Former Next director Christos Angelides leaves Abercrombie & Fitch as Fran Horowitz moves up
Christos Angelides has left Abercrombie & Fitch after just over a year at the struggling US fashion label.
Angelides, who is credited with being the driving force behind much of Next's success, left the UK high street retailer last autumn to become brand president. While he notched up 28 years at Next, he managed just a year and two months at A&F.
The company did not give a reason for his departure, or any indication of his next move.
Fran Horotwitz, president of A&F's Hollister brand, who joined the business at the same time as Angelides, has been promoted to president and chief merchandising officer of the group with immediate effect. She will have responsibility for all of the brands and report directly into Arthur C. Martinez, executive chairman.
Martinez said the company was making "encouraging progress" on its turnaround strategy.
"We are pleased with our performance for the quarter to date and are on track to deliver continued sequential improvement in comparable sales and achieve the profit expectations we had coming into the quarter," he added.
"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."