Marc Schneider to take over the reins at Kenneth Cole

It may have taken Kenneth Cole quite a bit of time, since 2012 to be precise, Kenneth Cole has finally named a new Chief Executive Officer. Marc Schneider, an industry retail veteran will be taking the reins at Kenneth Cole’s new CEO, taking over from Kenneth Cole himself, who has been acting as interim CEO since former CEO, Paul Blum’s departure. Schneider will be handed a great deal of responsibility taking over the company’s retail, outlet, e-commerce, international business, licensing, and wholesale channels. He will be reporting to Kenneth Cole on Monday, February 23rd, 2015.

While Kenneth Cole will be leaving his role as interim CEO he will be continuing on with his namesake label as executive chairman and chief creative officer. With the hope to further position Kenneth Cole as a global brand Schneider is just the man for the job. He arrives at Kenneth Cole with a very impressive resumé.

Marc Schneider to help Kenneth Cole go global

Prior to joining Kenneth Cole, Schneider was the Group President of Heritage Brands at PVH Corp. In his previous role he was responsible for the dress furnishings, sportswear, licensing, and retail divisions. His other roles include vice-president and officer at Timberland where he was the head of global product, licensing, and merchandising. In addition, he also served as division vice-president and group vice-president of the men’s division at Macy’s. He was also an owner and officer, as well as executive vice-president of merchandising at Melville Corp./Bob’s Stores.

In regards to his new role at Kenneth Cole, Schneider was quoted in a press release saying, “I am excited to partner with Kenneth, someone I've personally and professionally respected for many years. This is also a great opportunity to collaborate with the retailers, the licensing partners, and the entire Kenneth Cole team for the journey ahead. The brand has such rich heritage, and tremendous global potential, and I look forward to getting started.” With the hopes of positioning Kenneth Cole for future global growth Schneider will be expected to capitalize on that potential very quickly, but, he certainly seems like just what the fashionistas ordered to do so. In 2012, Kenneth Cole took the company private in a deal valued at 250 million dollars. This is expected to be the year that Kenneth Cole increases its profitability factor, so we’ll see what Schneider has in store for the promising label.