Vince co-founders end consulting arrangement after 15 months

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Feb 14, 2017

Vince co-founders Rea Laccone and Christopher LaPolice are parting ways with the company for a second time. The company announced on Monday a mutual agreement to end the duo’s consulting arrangements based on the progress achieved in resetting the brand.
 
Laccone and LaPolice rejoined Vince in 2015 in a consulting role after retiring from the company in 2013 when it went public. The founders sold Vince to Kellwood Company in 2006.

 
Brendan Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We appreciate Rea and Christopher’s contributions to the organization over the last 15 months, and we believe that we have largely accomplished our objective of resetting the brand aesthetic and merchandise offering with their guidance. While our financial results do not yet reflect the progress we have made to the merchandise assortment, we believe the return to the design aesthetic and commitment to quality that made Vince a leading luxury brand in the premium department store channel is an important step in driving future growth.”
 
Vince in January reported that it expects to meet or miss the low end of its sales and earnings per share guidance following its holiday season. The company reduced its fiscal outlook in December after a net sales decrease and negative wholesale and comparable sales performances in the third quarter.

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Despite the sluggish quarterly performances, Vince has remained optimistic due to customer’s favorable responses to the product.
 
Hoffman added, “The response to our initial collections and the tremendous insights that we have gained from our wholesale partners and retail field team, as well as our consumers, validate our belief that we are moving the assortment in the right direction. In addition to the improvements we have made to our merchandise assortment, we have pulled back on the excessive promotional activity in the brand as we focus on maintaining an elevated level of brand equity within the luxury fashion market. Going forward, we plan to make further enhancements to the merchandise offering, place greater focus on our omni-channel initiatives, with emphasis on the ecommerce channel, and drive increased efficiencies in our supply chain.”
 
Vince currently operates 40 full-price retail stores, 14 outlet stores and an e-commerce website.