The US clothing group VF Corporation will be managed by a German top manager until further notice. On Monday, the parent company of brands including Vans, The North Face and Timberland announced the resignation of CEO, Chairman and President Steve Rendle, who led the company for nearly six years. At the same time, the company appointed Benno Dorer as interim CEO and President.
The former head of the US consumer goods and chemicals group The Clorox Company has been a member of the VF Board of Directors since 2017 and has been Lead Independent Director since 2019. Now the manager, who was born in Furtwangen in the Black Forest, is to lead the operative business of the group of companies until a permanent CEO is found again. Richard Carucci, who has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2009, was appointed interim chairman.
The group is looking for a new boss and cuts its annual forecasts again
The group stated that the search for a new CEO had already begun. According to a statement, internal and external candidates would be evaluated with the support of a “leading personnel consulting firm”.
Interim Chairman Carucci praised the interim solution now announced at the top of the group. “We are fortunate that Benno will lead VF while the Board conducts the search for a CEO. He knows VF extremely well and has an excellent track record of delivering strong business results at a global consumer goods company,” Carucci said in a statement.
In addition to the change in management, the company also announced that it had to lower its forecasts for the current financial year 2022/23 again. Currency-adjusted sales growth of only three to four percent is now expected, after an increase of five to six percent had previously been targeted. The target range for adjusted diluted earnings per share was lowered to between $2.00 and $2.20 from $2.40 to $2.50.
The reason given by the group was that “customer demand, especially in the USA, was weaker than expected in all product categories”. This has led to a market environment characterized by higher discounts and order cancellations in the wholesale business, the clothing supplier said.