Charles Vögele with new management structure and adjusted brand strategy
Charles Vögele's Executive Management and Board of Directors have redefined the structure of the Executive Management and adopted a revised brand strategy.
The current Group Management since mid-September 2011, consisting of CEO Frank Beeck and CFO Markus Voegeli, is to be supplemented in future by a COO (Chief Operating Officer) and a CCO (Chief Commercial Officer), as the company announced on Wednesday. The role of CCO will be held by CEO Frank Beeck until further notice. The area comprises product development and sales, including the corresponding marketing activities. The COO's area of responsibility includes planning, procurement of merchandise and logistics. The search for a COO has been initiated.
In order to ensure the best possible continuity in management, Hans Ziegler supported Group Management after the change in the operational management of the company. In future, Hans Ziegler will concentrate on his duties as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Charles Vögele Holding. The Board of Directors is thus returning to its original management mode.
Realignment of the Charles Vögele brand
Another measure concerns the clear positioning and orientation of the Charles Vögele brand. "If we want to survive in today's environment, the company must position itself even more clearly in the market and sharpen its profile. The three existing main brands Casa Blanca, Biaggini and Kingfield are not sufficiently differentiated from each other in terms of consumer behavior," says Frank Beeck. For this reason, Group Management will in future focus on the strong Charles Vögele umbrella brand and dispense with the Casa Blanca, Biaggini and Kingfield own brands. All collections will be marketed under the Charles Vögele brand.
The challenging economic environment, the strong Swiss franc - which also had a negative impact on the second half of the year - and the unusually warm autumn have had an inhibiting effect on Charles Vögele Group's sales in recent months, as the press release explains further. In addition, there were logistics problems in connection with the commissioning of the Southern Distribution Center and its integration into the process organization. Due to these negative factors, the company's management now expects a significant deterioration in the operating result in the second half of the current financial year compared to the first half of 2011. With regard to the syndicated loan that expires in June 2012, the company's management is currently in talks with a small group of partner banks. The new agreement is intended to replace the existing loans and secure the Group's financial flexibility.
