Aritzia announces new CEO as revenue, profits grow

Aritzia has appointed Jennifer Wong as its new CEO as founder Brian Hill steps down from the position after 38 years.

Wong has been at the Canadian womenswear brand for 34 years, joining in 1987 as a style advisor and working her way up the ranks to her current position as president and chief operating officer in 2015, according to LinkedIn.

She will take over the CEO role on May 21, at which time current chief Hill will step into the executive chair role.

“I am excited to continue advancing Aritzia's business and delivering on the incredible growth opportunities we see ahead,” Wong said.

Outgoing chief Hill said there was “no better time and no one better to lead Aritzia into the future than Jennifer Wong”, and credited her for being “instrumental” in accelerating the company’s growth.

The CEO change comes as the company reported fourth quarter revenue of 444.3 million Canadian dollars, representing growth of 66.1 percent compared to the previous year and 61.3 percent compared to two years ago.

That growth was driven by the US market where revenue was up 108.8 percent year-over-year and up 127.9 percent year-over-two-years.

Net income in the fourth quarter more than doubled to 34.2 million Canadian dollars compared to 16.1 million Canadian dollars a year earlier.

US market shines

For the full year, revenue increased 74.3 percent year-over-year to 1.5 billion Canadian dollars driven by “unprecedented” growth in the US, where revenue was up 132 percent.

Aritzia’s annual net income surged to 156.9 million Canadian dollars compared to 19.2 million Canadian dollars in fiscal 2021.

“Ongoing strength in our business across all geographies and all channels drove exceptional top and bottom line growth, in spite of meaningful supply chain challenges,” Hill said.

He said the strong momentum has continued into the first quarter of the current year.

The company expects FY23 net revenue of approximately 375 million Canadian dollars, representing just over 50 percent year-over-year growth.

But it also warned of an expected 100 bps drop in gross profit margin linked to ongoing impacts from global supply chain disruption, inflationary pressure, and discontinued Covid relief subsidies.