Kenneth Cole’s Ceo Exits

Jill Granoff has resigned as ceo of Kenneth Cole Productions (New York). The Cole board of directors and Granoff issued a joint statement saying they have mutually agreed Granoff should leave the company, effective immediately.

Kenneth Cole, chairman and chief creative officer of the company bearing his name, will act as interim ceo. Paul Blum, who was with the company for 15 years and served as president from 2002 to 2006, has agreed to return to as vice chairman.

“It is with mixed emotions that I announce my departure from Kenneth Cole,” said Granoff. “Over the past three years I've worked with a great team on a great brand. Despite a challenging business environment, together we have been able to build a more productive organization that is well positioned for the future. I look forward to exciting opportunities ahead and wish Kenneth and the team continued success.”

Cole announced Granoff’s exit on the same day that it disclosed its 2010 results. For that period, the designer and marketer of fashion footwear, apparel and accessories reported revenues of $457.3 million, an 11.4 percent increase over a year earlier, and earnings of $2.1 million, up from a loss of $63.2 million.

“We believe that our business is now positioned to take advantage of significant untapped opportunities for growth,” said cfo David Edelman. “We have closed our underperforming stores, put new leadership in place and, once the near-term impact of our decision to close underperforming stores is behind us, we expect to see a financial benefit that far outweighs these short-term costs.”

The company closed eight full-priced stores in 2010, along with seven additional outlets in the first quarter of 2011 (including its flagship location in New York’s Rockefeller Center). Cole plans to close two more stores in the first half of 2011.