Splendid Founder Leaves Company
Moise Emquies, founder and chief executive of the Splendid and Ella Moss labels, has left the Los Angeles company.
Emquies, who completed the sale of his two Los Angeles-based contemporary knitwear labels to VF Corp. in 2009, said he has resigned and March 12 is his last day.
VF Corp. released a statement stating that Jonathan Saven, president of Ella Moss and Splendid, and Pamella Protzel Scott, creative director, both long-time veterans with the brands, will continue to run the business in their respective leadership roles.
VF Corp. bought one-third of the parent company, Mo Industries, in 2008 for $77.4 million. That same year, the two labels had combined revenues of $95 million.
VF purchased the remaining two-thirds of the company in 2009 for $161 million, plus the repayment of $47 million in existing net debt.
Saven, who was named president of the business in early 2009, will report to Susan Kellogg, president of VF’s Contemporary Brands coalition. “The Ella Moss and Splendid brands are an important part of our portfolio of contemporary sportswear brands, with excellent prospects for future growth,” Kellogg said in the statement.
In November, Splendid opened a 2,500-square-foot flagship store on Robertson Boulevard, the company’s first retail outlet. Together, Splendid and Ella Moss sell in approximately 1,500 doors worldwide and accounted for $20 million in revenues during the fourth quarter in 2009.—Erin Barajas
