MANUFACTURING
Hudson Jeans Names New President
For the second time in a little more than one year, Hudson Jeans has a new president.
Differential Brands, the Los Angeles parent company of Hudson, Robert Graham and SWIMS, announced that Maria Borromeo will be taking over the job as president.
She replaces Matthew Fior, who was named Hudson Jeans’ president in April 2017.
Borromeo will be working alongside Peter Kim, who founded the denim line in 2002 and is the chief executive officer. “I believe Maria’s extensive background with global luxury brands will be invaluable as we execute not only on our strategic growth plans but also on pioneering an evolved business model that addresses a rapidly changing retail environment and speaks to today’s and tomorrow’s consumer,” Kim said.
Borromeo was the cofounder and chief executive of Thakoon LLC, which featured designer Thakoon Panichgul’s fashions. Thakoon was acquired and shifted to a direct-to-consumer model with Chinese textile mogul Silas Chou’s Bright Fame Fashion.
Prior to Thakoon, Borromeo worked for the brands Alexander McQueen and Etro.
Differential Brands recently reported its first quarter earnings for the period ending March 31, showing a $4 million net loss compared with a $2.35 million net loss during the same period last year.
Net sales for the first quarter declined 3 percent to $38.8 million.
Sales reflected a 12 percent increase in consumer-direct segment sales and an 8 percent decline in wholesale segment sales.
Consumer-direct sales were driven by a 16 percent increase in same-store sales at Robert Graham and SWIMS. However, Robert Graham’s wholesale sales improvement was offset by declines at Hudson and SWIMS.
