Courtesy of Stitch Fix
founder Katrina Lake is stepping down as the online apparel company’s CEO, handing over the reins to current president, Elizabeth Spaulding. Lake becomes the company’s executive chairperson. The change is effective Aug. 1, at the start of the company’s new fiscal year.
The styling service company said that Lake will remain a Stitch Fix (ticker: SFIX) employee, focusing on social impact programs, sustainability, partnerships and talent. Spaulding joined Stitch Fix in January 2020, and has been focused in part on the company’s plan to add a direct buy sales model to its business. The company plans to introduce a direct buy option to new clients at the end of the July 2021 fiscal year.
Lake announced the transition plan in an email to employees that has now been posted to the company’s website.
“Apparel retail is undergoing a reinvention, and Stitch Fix is exceedingly well-positioned to lead through it,” Lake said in the memo. “This moment of transformation in our business and our industry makes it the right time to think about the next generation of leadership at our company. We need leaders who inspire us to see and create the greatest possibility and impact we can have on the world, taking us from the 4 million clients we serve today, to the many millions more I know we can delight.”
Prior to Stitch Fix, Spaulding was global head and founder of the Digital Practice at Bain.
Stitch Fix in late trading was down nearly 5%, to $47.09 on Wednesday.
Corrections & amplifications: A previous version of this article’s headline misspelled CEO Katrina Lake’s name.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at eric.savitz@barrons.com
