This story was originally part of the 2023 Glossy 50 feature. Click here to see all of this year’s honorees.
In August, Tapestry, Inc. announced its $8.5 billion acquisition of Capri Holdings Limited, expanding its brand portfolio beyond Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman to also include Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo and Versace. The merger was led by Tapestry CEO Joanne C. Crevoiserat, who had only landed in her role in 2020 but had already made a big, positive impact on the business. For example, based on a digital transformation plan she’d implemented, the company’s 2022 e-commerce sales tripled, compared to pre-pandemic levels, growing from $600 million to $2 billion.
“I’m most proud of Tapestry’s ability to deliver consistently strong results in the face of incredible challenges in the environment,” she said.
She said the Capri deal has worked to spotlight the strength of Tapestry’s capabilities, specifically when it comes to “brand building, connecting consumers with brands and connecting brands with consumers in relevant ways.” Tapestry now has the opportunity to scale its proven model.
Crevoiserat called the “complementarity” of Tapestry’s and Capri’s business models a “huge advantage” to both. Through Capri, Tapestry will gain customer reach, including in Europe and among the “attractive,” higher-level luxury segment. It will also tap Capri’s capabilities in lifestyle categories, including apparel and footwear, which its Coach and Kate Spade businesses see as growth opportunities. Tapestry, meanwhile, has a comparatively stronger presence in Asia and higher sales penetration in direct sales channels, which are set to work to benefit Capri.
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“We are competing with very large global competitors,” Crevoiserat said. “So having more scale will help us, as an American company, compete.”
Tapestry’s recent, digital-focused transformation stemmed from asking, “What will it take to win in the new world of retail?” Crevoiserat said. It then landed on three areas of focus: getting closer to consumers by leveraging data, elevating digital capabilities and becoming a more agile organization, the last of which Crevoiserat called “the secret sauce.”
Successfully “moving at the speed of the consumer” involves driving product innovation, delivering compelling omnichannel experiences, driving growth globally and unlocking the power of employees, she said.
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“Our teams are now equipped to use data to make decisions in their everyday course of business, and that helps us move faster,” she said. “We’ve built a really strong foundation, business and way of doing business that is equipped for the times — the challenging times that are changing very dynamically.”
With the acquisition, Tapestry will grow from an 18,000-person business to a company of 33,000 people. Crevoiserat said that, at all stages of the business, she’ll continue to ensure that teams are engaged, diverse and made of “complementary capabilities,” and that individual workers are being championed and developed.
In addition, “protecting and nurturing” the DNA of each brand, while communicating their unique values and purpose, will be an ongoing focus.
“We’ve now got six incredible brands, each with [strong] heritage, design and craftsmanship,” Crevoiserat said. “Putting them on our modern consumer engagement platform will lead to more consumer connectivity, more relevance and luxury at its best.”
