Manny Chirico Returns to Fashion to Become Chairman of BCI

Evan Clark
·3 min read
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Manny Chirico is coming off the bench.

The former chairman and chief executive officer of PVH Corp. is “reentering” the fashion business and becoming chairman of BCI Brands, according to a statement from the company.

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The post, which became official on Tuesday, has Chirico linking arms with BCI CEO Ariel Chaus, who repurchased the company from the Camuto Group in 2018.

BCI logs more than $400 million in annual wholesale sales through brands such as Vince Camuto, Chaus and Cynthia Steffe, as well as private label names for Dillard’s, Macy’s and Nordstrom.

The company said Chirico would focus on “further strengthening BCI’s leading fashion position in the marketplace and identifying potential strategic acquisitions and licensing opportunities.”

Chirico, who handed the reins of PVH over to CEO Stefan Larsson in February 2021 and stepped down as chairman at the end of that year, will also be taking a minority stake in BCI. That expands his portfolio, which also includes a stake in Tommy John that he picked up last year.

“In BCI I see significant expansion possibilities with their competitive portfolio of brands, their full price distribution channels, and unlevered cash flow,” Chirco said. “I’m eager to develop promising new alliances for them across the industry. I look forward to working with Ariel Chaus, adding my skills and experience to further the BCI Brands’ outstanding management team, led by Shari Levine, and accelerating their exciting growth prospects.”

Chirico was not available to elaborate, but he’s jumping back into the market at a time of significant flux.

At PVH, Larsson has been simplifying, looking to drive customers to its Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein brands with big media moments while creating a lean and quick-turn supply chain to meet demand. Larsson has also shown a willingness to shake things up, for instance by moving to take key North American licenses for Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein back from G-III Apparel Group.

That unwound a relationship Chirico spent years cultivating and prompted the Morris Goldfarb-led G-III to respond by inking new licensing deals for Nautica and Halston, plan an expansion of the Donna Karan brand and more.

Now Chirico is back on the scene and looking for new opportunities — and that just might open a world of possibility.

During his 27-year career at PVH, Chirico helped transform a men’s dress shirt maker into a designer powerhouse as he rose through the financial side of the business, rising to chief financial officer before jumping over to become CEO and chairman.

His fingerprints were all over the deals to acquire Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and then Warnaco, pushing the company’s revenues to $9.9 billion in 2019.

“Manny is a legend in our business because of his knowledge, superb integrity, and immense level of professionalism,” said Chaus. “His strategic advice and impressive reach of contacts across the fashion space will undoubtedly strengthen our already strong management team and help advance the company to the next level.”

Just what the next level looks like for BCI remains to be seen, but fashion is suddenly looking more and more like a dealmaker’s market, that is, Chirico’s kind of market.

Tapestry Inc. is buying Capri Holdings, Kering is investing in Valentino, Sycamore Partners is scooping up Chico’s FAS Inc., Kim Kardashian’s Skims was just valued at $4 billion, Birkenstock is making its Wall Street debut, others are moving toward IPOs, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus are reportedly talking again and HanesBrands Inc. put Champion on the block.

The question now might just be, what will BCI do?

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