Stitch Fix is about to go without a chief merchandising and customer service officer, WWD has learned, as Loretta Choy prepares to vacate the role.
The topic was a much-discussed subject internally, as a company email apparently informed staffers about the change in the last week or so. Choy’s exit will be effective Friday.
When reached for comment, Stitch Fix did not disclose any immediate plans for a replacement. For now, chief executive officer Matt Baer will oversee the function, with merchandising, styling and customer service managers reporting to him on an interim basis. The company also did not shed any light on what led to this executive departure or the nature of it, including whether it was a voluntary or forced resignation.
Choy has been with the company for four-and-a-half years, joining from Old Navy to manage its women’s business before assuming the role of chief merchandising officer in 2022. Mere months later, client services was folded into the job. Now, as Stitch Fix undergoes some deep reflection on client experience and merchandising in the face of continued business losses, the company is losing its top executive responsible for those specific areas.
On its latest earnings call in March, Baer, who became CEO in June 2022, delivered sobering numbers: During the fiscal second quarter, the company reported that revenue plunged from some 18 percent compared to last year, from $400.6 million to $330.4 million. While it managed to reduce losses, going from $62.1 million to $35.5 million, or 29 cents per share, it still failed to meet projections. Analysts anticipated losses of 22 cents per share.
At the time, the chief executive said he was “excited about the work we are doing to strengthen the foundation of our business and reimagine the client experience.” He pointed to core factors like merchandising and “a powerful value proposition that combines a strong network of stylists, carefully curated merchandise assortment and advanced data science and technology to create an experience that only Stitch Fix can deliver.”
But Stitch Fix’s ranks of stylists have also narrowed with multiple rounds of layoffs and mounting pressure to perform, amid challenges that reportedly include a lean merchandising mix.
