Dive Brief:
- Deckers, the footwear, apparel and accessories company, has named Stefano Caroti as its new president and CEO. Dave Powers, the company’s current president and CEO, will retire Aug. 1 and continue serving on its board of directors through its 2025 annual meeting, according to a Thursday press release.
- Caroti now serves as Deckers’ chief commercial officer, a position he began in April 2023. He also served as interim president of Hoka. Prior to that Caroti spent about six years at Puma and over a decade at Nike, according to his LinkedIn profile.
- Deckers expects that Caroti will be nominated to the company’s board during its 2024 annual stockholder meeting, per the press release.
Dive Insight:
The list of firms replacing their chief executives over the past year continues to grow. In 2024 so far, new CEOs have taken the helm at Rothy’s, Macy’s, Designer Brands and Merit. And H&M lost its chief executive after four years in the role.
The CEO appointment comes as Deckers experiences growth.
“Since joining Deckers in 2012, we have experienced explosive growth driven by incredible – and still increasing – brand heat across UGG and Hoka,” Powers said in a statement. “Our organization has proven to be incredibly resilient, and we have worked with agility to continuously achieve our goal of doing good and doing great. I’m confident Deckers will continue to excel throughout this transition and into the future with Stefano at the helm, and I wish all my colleagues the best as we begin our next chapter.”
In a separate announcement on Thursday, Deckers reported sizable sales gains in its third-quarter earnings report. The company’s net sales in the quarter increased 16% year over year to $1.6 billion, driven by DTC sales increasing 22.7% to $858.1 million and wholesale sales increasing 8.6% to $702.2 million. Deckers’ third-quarter operating income also rose 34.5% year over year to $487.9 million, while its net income increased about 40% to $389.9 million.
By brand, Ugg sales rose 15.2% year over year to $1.1 billion and Hoka sales increased 21.9% to $429.3 million. However, Teva sales fell 16.2% to $25.6 million and Sanuk sales decreased 28.9% to $4 million.
“Our brands delivered Deckers’ largest quarter in history, with record revenue and earnings as both Hoka and Ugg drove exceptional performance in the quarter, led by our DTC channel and high levels of full price selling,” Powers said in a statement regarding the company’s third quarter. “We believe Hoka and Ugg are two of the healthiest brands in the industry and we remain focused on executing against our strategic initiatives to drive long-term future success.”
The company raised its 2024 fiscal year guidance. Deckers now expects 2024 net sales to be about $4.15 billion from previously projected $4.03 billion. Gross margin is also expected to be 54.5%, up from a prior estimate of 52.5% to 53%. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales is projected to be 34.5% and operating margin is expected to be about 20%.
