Paul Blum to Exit Juicy Couture

Paul Blum, CEO of Juicy Couture, has announced his departure from the company, effective Jan. 31.

Blum was brought in last December as CEO to lead the turnaround efforts and focus on global expansion.

"It's been a great year for me personally and professionally," Blum told WWD. "It was a great experience working with Bill McComb and Fifth & Pacific, and taking over where LeAnn Nealz [former president and chief creative officer] really left off. The brand had some good creative momentum and there was a good business opportunity. There was a lot of low hanging fruit."

Last month, Authentic Brands Group purchased the intellectual property assets of Juicy Couture from Fifth & Pacific Co. Inc. for $195 million. William L. McComb, CEO of Fifth & Pacific said, "In the year he has been with us, Paul charted a new course for Juicy Couture and led his team toward global growth through line extensions, improved marketing with a focus on digital and social media, omnichannel retailing and licensing. The initiatives he put in place - both visible and invisible to the consumer - have been wins for the brand. With the sale to Authentic Brands Group, however, Paul determined it was time to move on."

Jamie Salter, CEO of ABG, said that a successor to Blum hasn't been named yet, and he and the new international licensee will decide in the coming weeks.

"Paul has been an incredible transition guy. He'll stay and make sure fall and holiday product is in good order for the licensees to order in January," said Salter.

Thinking about the past year, Blum believes his biggest accomplishment was cultivating the global customer. "We really developed our assortments, marketing and presentation to the global consumer," he said. He said he is also proud of the fact that he was able to "allow creative people to optimize their performance."

So what's next for Blum who has worked for both Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. and David Yurman? "I'm a hard guy to classify. I started out as a designer and have been involved in operations as well. I have a strong design background, as well as a merchandising background. I would love to continue nurturing, developing and building brands," he said. "It's something I've really enjoyed between Juicy, David Yurman and Kenneth Cole."