Haute 100: Tommy Hilfiger Appoints New VP of Communications

Fashion empire Tommy Hilfiger has appointed a new Vice President of Communications for North America, the company announced. According to Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), the American multinational fashion corporation has selected Pear Lee for the role.

Lee has an extensive history in the fashion industry. Prior to taking on the role as VP of Communications of North America, Lee served as Vice President of Public Relations at Ralph Lauren Corp., as well as executive roles at Fendi Americas and BCBG Max Azria Group.

Lee will report to Abdel El Hamri, who is the Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications, the Americas and SVP, Global Communications. Although Hamri was appointed to this role just last year, he has been with the company for more than 10 years and has held a number of executive positions. Prior to this role Hamri once was in charge of supervising marketing and communications for the EMEA region.

Most recently PVH Corp., Tommy Hilfiger’s parent company, announced it has completed the acquisition of 55 percent interest in Tommy Hilfiger Asia Ltd., its joint venture for Tommy Hilfiger in China. The company hopes the acquisition will add approximately $100 million of revenue as well as gradually increase its 2016 earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis.

In a statement, Emanuel Chirico, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PVH Corp., commented, “This transaction has been envisioned since PVH and the funds advised by Apax Partners established the Tommy Hilfiger China joint venture in connection with the Tommy Hilfiger acquisition in 2010. With the closing of this transaction, our Tommy Hilfiger business can now operate directly its fastest growing market, while leveraging our well-established infrastructure in Asia, our regional leadership expertise and strong brand momentum across both our Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein businesses in the region. We look forward to the continued growth of the Tommy Hilfiger business in China.”