Will Raf Simons remain at Calvin Klein? CEO disappointed about sales

Raf Simons’ tenure at Calvin Klein has drawn accolades from the fashion community (the designer scored its third CFDA award in two years back in June), but it seems the critical acclaim has not translated into sales as much as Emanuel Chirico, Chairman and CEO of Calvin Klein’s parent company PVH Corp, would want. “We went too far, too fast on both fashion and price”, he said on a post-earnings call on Friday.

“The Calvin Klein brand continues to command strong brand health and desire in all markets. However, the business in the third quarter experienced softness. While many of the product categories performed well, we are disappointed by the lack of return on our investments (...) and believe that some of the Calvin Klein Jeans relaunched product was too elevated and did not sell through as well as we planned”, reads a transcription of the call posted on the company’s website.

“We’re working on fixing this fashion miss, and we believe that our CK Jeans offering will be much more commercial and fashion-right beginning in 2019”, he continued. “As we move into 2019, we believe the consumer will increasingly feel more connected to the brand as we offer a more commercial product and marketing experience to capture the long term opportunity for the Calvin Klein business”.

Raf Simons joined Calvin Klein in 2016, with an unprecedented level of control over the label’s men’s and women’s collections, denim, home goods, and marketing. His contract is set to expire in August, according to WWD, and rumors already abound about it not getting renewed.

Picture: Calvin Klein Facebook