Ralph Lauren Corp. made headlines with its June 7th announcement that it planned to close 50 stores and lay off 1,000 employees as part of a restructuring in response to lower sales.
The announcement didn’t go into specifics about the luxury brand’s plans to correct its course. But some industry insiders speculate that the background of Ralph Lauren CEO Stefan Larsson, who took the reins of the company in September, holds the key.
Larsson came to the upscale company from Gap Inc.’s Old Navy division, where he served as global president. Prior to that, he spent 15 years with Swedish fast-fashion giant H&M.
