Johnny Coca to take over at Mulberry in less than a month

New York - It's no secret that Mulberry has seen some struggling sales figures. While they have seen a ray of hope with the launch of their lower-priced bags, those are only really doing well in their own freestanding stores. For a company to try and retain success and relevance without a creative director is a challenge that virtually no fashion company would ever willingly take on.

It's been over two years since Mulberry's former creative director Emma Hill's departure was announced, and ever since then Mulberry has been working hard to stay afloat. Mulberry was also in another rather unfortunate predicament, because they also lost their CEO. The good news for Mulberry is that it is only a month away until Johnny Coca takes over as creative director of the brand.

Of course, there is much to be said for Johnny Coca. For the past several years he has been one of the forces behind luxury French fashion house Celine's impeccable and highly coveted handbags. He is no stranger to the world of high fashion accessories, and his eye could really help turnaround the struggling brand.

While creative directors tend to have a lot of major duties, from overseeing things like the artistic direction of stores, to visual merchandising, and campaign photoshoots, Coca will be taking it easy at first, primarily focusing on accessories, while an image director will be in charge of the creative development of stores, packaging, and marketing. Coca, who has held design roles at Louis Vuitton and Bally as well, seems like just the right man to help elevate Mulberry's accessories department based on his experiences.

Coca's appointment seen as part of the formula to reinvigorate Mulberry

With the appointment of Coca, the fashion industry has become more excited about Mulberry than ever. The last time they have received this much was when they launched the Alexa bag. The big challenge Coca will have is finding out what the Mulberry customer wants, and what will help them bring new customers into their stores.

Former Mulberry CEO Bruno Guillon attempted to push Mulberry into a higher price bracket during the recession, so that way it would compete with recession-proof brands like Hermes and Celine, however, this plan viciously backfired and cost Mulberry sales. To turn back the clock on this damage, the fashion house collaborated with "it girl" Cara Delevingne for a collection of handbags worth not much more than 100 British Pounds.

While Coca does have a very big job ahead of him, he isn't expected to perform instant magic. "We won't see the impact of his arrival for around two years - that's the lifecycle of a product from design concept to store shelf, followed by sales and customer opinion - and in that time he will be able to settle in. The most important thing to ensure success is for the chairman to appoint the right CEO, and help foster a harmonious relationship between them. If the new CEO [ Thierry Andretta, who was appointed in March ] is too domineering or wants to interfere in design, a creative with a gentle personality like Johnny can be stifled," Lewis Alexander, founder of Lewis Alexander Executive Search, the firm headhunts both creative and management talents for the fashion industry, told British Vogue.