Stitch Fix Taps Former Macy’s, Walmart Exec As CEO
Stitch Fix wants to focus on its styling business in the U.S. Photo: Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg News By Robb M. Stewart June 14, 2023 11:22 am ET Stitch Fix has turned to former Macy’s executive Matt Baer to take over as chief executive of the personal shopping and styling service as it looks to tighten its focus to find a path to profitability. Baer will take the helm June 26 from founder Katrina Lake, who has run the San Francisco-based company on an interim basis since the departure early this year of Elizabeth Spaulding after less than 18 months as CEO. Lake will continue on in her role as executive chairperson. Stitch Fix has been scaling back its operations and cutting costs as it seeks to concent
Stitch Fix wants to focus on its styling business in the U.S.
Photo: Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg News
Stitch Fix has turned to former Macy’s executive Matt Baer to take over as chief executive of the personal shopping and styling service as it looks to tighten its focus to find a path to profitability.
Baer will take the helm June 26 from founder Katrina Lake, who has run the San Francisco-based company on an interim basis since the departure early this year of Elizabeth Spaulding after less than 18 months as CEO. Lake will continue on in her role as executive chairperson.
Stitch Fix has been scaling back its operations and cutting costs as it seeks to concentrate on its styling business in the U.S. The company last week reported a narrowed loss for the latest quarter but a 20% fall in revenue, and said that as part of its latest effort to shake up its operations, it would close a distribution center in Dallas and look to exit the U.K. market.
Matt Baer takes the helm as CEO later this month.
Photo: Getty Images for Macy’s, Inc.
Baer, who previously was chief customer and digital officer at Macy’s, said he aimed to leverage his years of experience building and scaling retail business to deliver a sustained profitable growth at Stitch Fix.
The company’s shares retreated following news of the appointment, sliding 5.6% in early trading to $4.51 a share. Over the past 12 months, the stock has lost 28% of its value.
At Macy’s, Baer was responsible for growth and strategy for the company’s Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s digital businesses. Prior to joining Macy’s, he was vice president of e-commerce at . com.
Lake, who was Stitch Fix’s CEO from its inception in 2011 until 2021 and helped the company go public in 2017, stepped back into the role early in the year as Stitch Fix was cutting 20% of its salaried jobs. That came after the company shed about 330 jobs, or 4% of its overall workforce, last year amid a slowdown in sales and widening losses.
Stitch Fix, which offers personalized shipments of apparel, shoes and accessories, initially focused on women’s clothing, but has tried to expand its client base over the years and the range of products it offers. It also has grown beyond a subscription styling service to add traditional e-commerce sites that sell apparel directly.
Last week, the company said it had roughly 3.5 million active clients at the end of its fiscal third quarter, a drop of 11% from a year ago. Net revenue per client for the quarter was $502, a fall of 9% on last year.
Overall revenue, which fell to $394.9 million in the three months to April 29, is projected by Stitch Fix to decline 22% to 24% for the fiscal year.
As part of its refocus on a “styling first” model in the U.S., the company said it was moving to just three distribution centers in its network, closing the one in Dallas in 2024 and not renewing the lease on another. It said it also would explore exiting the U.K. market, which it entered four years ago.
Stitch Fix in March named David Aufderhaar, previously the company’s senior vice president of finance, to succeed Chief Financial Officer Dan Jedda, who left to become finance chief at streaming company
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Write to Robb M. Stewart at [email protected]
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