Abercrombie & Fitch promotes Fran Horowitz to President and CMO

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Dec 22, 2015

American lifestyle brand Abercrombie & Fitch announced on Tuesday the appointment of Fran Horowitz as President & CMO of the company, with immediate effect.

Horowitz, who served as President of A&F’s Hollister brand until now, will have responsibility for all customer-facing activities across all of the group’s brands, reporting to Arthur C. Martinez, Executive Chairman. This will include merchandising, design, planning, inventory management, marketing and stores.

"Fran's merchandising skills and her exceptional leadership, which has inspired associates to focus all their efforts on an intense understanding and commitment to our customers, has ignited a turnaround at our Hollister brand. This promotion provides Fran the opportunity to play an even greater role in our future success as we focus on building shareholder value by positioning each of our brands for sustainable growth," said Arthur Martinez.

Fran Horowitz joined the clothing brand as Hollister Brand President in October 2014 from Ann Taylor Loft, where she worked as Brand President. Her fashion credentials include the role of Executive Vice President of Women's Merchandising and Design at Express Inc, and several merchandising and buying positions at Bloomingdales and Bergdorf Goodman.

The retailer of casual apparel for men, women and kids also plans to name new presidents for each of its brand “at the appropriate time”. The group includes Abercrombie & Fitch, Abercrombie Kids and Hollister Co.

Christos Angelides, who served as Abercrombie & Fitch Brand President since October 2014, previously worked at Next for 28 years.