US fashion retailer J.Crew has appointed former Victoria’s Secret CEO Jan Singer as its new chief executive officer, after more than a year without an official CEO. She takes over from interim CEO Michael J. Nicholson, who will return to his original role as chief operating officer.

Singer has over 25 years of retail experience at major brands including her most recent position at Victoria’s Secret, from which she stepped down in November 2018. She also spent a two-year stint as CEO of Spanx, and held various positions at Nike, Reebok, Chanel, Calvin Klein and Prada. 

Her appointment ends J.Crew’s year-long search for a CEO, which has been ongoing since former CEO Jim Brett resigned. Now she is expected to turn around J.Crew’s struggling brand, which has been seeing a steady decline in its popularity and revenue for the last few years, attributed partly to changing consumer patterns and partly due to miscalculations by previous leaders. One strategic move she may oversee in the near future is the spin-off of J.Crew’s Madewell brand, which is currently the company’s most profitable division and which would net it a much-needed cash injection if it successfully went public.

Chad Leat, chairman of J.Crew, said that Singer’s understanding of the modern consumer will help to rebuild the brand’s market position and profitability. “Jan is a dynamic leader with significant experience growing and modernizing omni-channel brands,” he added.

Singer herself expressed excitement at the opportunity. “My passion for developing product, brand experiences and teams feels very at home at J.Crew,” she said.

Image Credits: WWD