Perry Ellis International reshuffles top executives

Perry Ellis International announced a leadership succession plan that it intends to implement at the beginning of the next fiscal year. George Feldenkreis, who founded the company in 1967 and has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board since 1993, after a career of 50 years leading the company, he will now serve as Executive Chairman of the board with an integral role in strategic planning and the development of M&A, international, licensing and other growth opportunities.

Oscar Feldenkreis, who has been involved in all aspects of the company's operations since joining the company full-time in 1980 and has served as President and Chief Operating Officer since 1993, will become Perry Ellis' Chief Executive Officer at the beginning of the next fiscal year. Meanwhile, Jane E. DeFlorio, a director of Perry Ellis since December 2014, has been appointed to serve as Perry Ellis' lead independent director, effective immediately. She succeeds Joseph P. Lacher, who has served as lead independent director since 2006 and is retiring from the Perry Ellis Board after the 2015 Annual Meeting.

Commenting on the senior level changes, George Feldenkreis said, “I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished over the past half century, particularly the value that we have created for all our stakeholders. We have grown from being a small importer of guayaberas and children's wear in 1967 to being a leading international designer and distributor of globally recognized apparel brands. For the past two years, we have worked very hard to return the Company to a more profitable path."

George Feldenkreis founded Perry Ellis as Supreme International Corp. in Miami in 1967. In its early years, then privately-held, Supreme International focused on wholesale men's apparel, importing guayaberas - the pleated, four-pocket shirts and eventually expanded into sport shirts and began producing original designs, reaching beyond the Hispanic market in Florida and Puerto Rico. George, together with Oscar, transformed the business model in favour of branded apparel and multi-channel distribution. The company launched its first major brand in 1990, followed by its initial public offering in 1993. In 1999, the company acquired the Perry Ellis brand and changed its name to Perry Ellis International. Under George's leadership, the Company has grown from 33 million dollars in sales in fiscal 1992 to 890 million dollars in fiscal 2015.