Canada Goose lays off 17% of corporate workers after noting ...

Canada Goose announced plans March 26 to lay off 17% of its corporate workforce to cut costs and simplify the organization. The winter wear retailer said layoffs are part of a larger transformation program that will increase efficiency and move Canada Goose closer toward its strategic goals. Canada Goose will share more about the transformation program and projections in its May 2024 earnings report.

The layoffs will impact 156 jobs, Reuters reported.

“Today, we are realigning our teams to ensure that corporate resources are fit for purpose to fuel our next phase of growth across geographies, categories, and channels,” said Dani Reiss, Canada Goose CEO. “We are focused on achieving efficiency and margin expansion, while investing in key initiatives — brand, design and best-in-class operations — that will powerfully position our iconic performance luxury brand to deliver long-term growth.”

Canada Goose is No. 220 in the Top 1000, which is Digital Commerce 360’s database ranking North America’s largest online retailers by their annual web sales. In the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360 categorizes Canada Goose as an Apparel & Accessories retailer.

The retailer also announced some leadership changes at the same time as the layoffs.

Carrie Baker, president of brand and commercial, will take on design in addition to her current role. She will also work with Reiss on creative, product and brand evolution.

Former chief operating officer John Moran left Canada Goose on March 19, the retailer said. Beth Clymer will take over operations. Clymer currently serves as president of finance, strategy, and administration.

Chief transformation officer Daniel Binder will also begin overseeing global stores, Canada Goose said.

The retailer will also have a new chief financial officer (CFO) on April 1. Neil Bowder, deputy CFO, will begin the new role on that day after more than seven years with Canada Goose. Current CFO Jonathan Sinclair is leaving the position to become president of Canada Goose’s Asia Pacific operations.

The retailer most recently reported results for the third quarter of its fiscal 2024 ended Dec. 31. Total Q3 revenue increased 6% year over year to $609.9 million. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenue grew 14% to $514.0 million, or 84% of total revenue. Meanwhile, wholesale revenue declined 28%.

Revenue increased 62% in the Asia Pacific region, but that was partially offset by a 26% decline in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 14% decline in North America. Declining sales outside of Asia were mostly the result of lower conversion, Canada Goose said.

Canada Goose reported net income of $131.4 million, compared to $137.5 million in the year-ago period. In the Feb. 1 earnings report, Canada Goose noted a challenging consumer environment.

“We believe that the highly promotional environment, combined with continued pressure on consumer spend in the quarter, contributed to challenges converting our digital traffic and, to some extent, our store traffic as well, especially outside of key holiday shopping moments,” Reiss told investors.

“We saw the pressure, consumers feeling that pinch and a little less loose, I guess, with their wallets,” Baker added. She also noted that warmer temperatures negatively impacted sales.

The retailer noted the planned changes in its February earnings report, although it did not mention layoffs.

“While we’re still in the early days of implementation of our transformation program, we are realizing efficiencies sooner than we expected,” Sinclair said. “The mixed consumer environment has proved more of a headwind compared to the benefits we’re seeing, although the traction we saw in Asia Pacific in Q3 was very promising.”

At the time, he noted that Canada expected about $15 million in savings from the program in fiscal 2024. Beyond layoffs, savings came from streamlining inventory and merchandising operations, he said.

Submit your data with this quick survey and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.

Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.

Favorite