Christopher H. Peterson named president of Ralph Lauren, global brands

Christopher H. Peterson has been named the new president of Ralph Lauren, global brands. This is a new position that has been created, and the global brand presidents, the chief financial officer, the global real estate departments, and investor relations departments will all be reporting to him. Peterson may have only been at Ralph Lauren for 3 years, but, he has an impressive list of executive experience having held several senior and executive roles at Procter and Gamble where he worked before he was hired by Ralph Lauren.

Peterson will continue to report to Ralph Lauren, the chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Peterson's promotion is part of Ralph Lauren's strategy to convert to more of a traditional global business model. During his time at Procter and Gamble, Peterson worked to help drive the company to a more global brand style structure, so, he was seen as the perfect candidate for this job. Jackwyn Nemerov, Ralph Lauren's COO, will still be retaining his position, title, and same duties.

Robert L. Madore, formerly Ralph Lauren's Senior Vice President of Finance, has been promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. The finance, tax, treasury, and internal audit departments will be reporting to him. Madore will continue reporting to Peterson. He will also be sharing oversight and divisional management responsibilities of Ralph Lauren's financial operations.

“I have tremendous confidence about the future of this company and the opportunities for our brands around the world,” Lauren said in a statement. “We have an experienced and proven management team in place. As we move to a new global organizational structure, these executive leadership changes will allow us to maximize the potential of our brands and drive global growth.”

Ralph Lauren adjusts brand structure

In the past, Ralph Lauren followed more of brand structure what was built around channels and regions. In order to survive in today's developing retail landscape they are moving more towards a brand structure that will focus more on brands and consumer segments. Successful retailers today follow a global omnichannel model, trying to get their brands in as many global markets as possible and finding the best way to make their brick-and-mortar and e-commerce destinations work. Ralph Lauren's transformation is similar to the brand structure Nike shifted to several years ago where they moved away from product categories to sport-specific divisions.

While Ralph Lauren has continuously retained its status as one of most iconic global luxury brands to come out of America, the the brand didn't have the best Q4 in 2014, and with retail traffic being sluggish in their stores they are hoping that this switch to a new brand structure will really help them turn their profits and revenue around. The brand has said that they do expect sales and business to still be a little rocky throughout this year as they are making adjustments to their new global brand structure.

During its conference call in February, Lauren discussed a few details about their new brand structure, which could potentially yield 100 million dollars in annualized savings once fully implemented. The move was said to help offset potential issues, such as continuing currency pressures continue, and low store traffic. Peterson has assured us, however, that the new structure will be able to help Ralph Lauren realize its full potential as a brand, and help them realize their create brand consistency. While they are only off to a slow and steady start, the future is looking even brighter for the iconic American luxury brand.

photo:merchandisingsociety.com