Kellwood Names Janice Sullivan President of Rebecca Taylor

August 5, 2015 | By Business Wire News

NEW YORK

Kellwood Company, a leading apparel manufacturer, announced today the appointment of Janice Sullivan as President of its Rebecca Taylor brand. Co-Founder Rebecca Taylor will continue to serve as the brand’s Creative Director for this highly successful fashion collection geared toward refined and modern women.

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Janice Sullivan and Rebecca Taylor (Photo: Business Wire)

In her new role, Sullivan will direct day-to-day business operations, and will partner with Taylor to leverage each other’s strengths and drive the Rebecca Taylor brand strategy both in the US market and internationally. Sullivan will report to Kellwood’s CEO Joe Lombardi.

“I am excited to have Janice lead our team,” said Rebecca Taylor. “I look forward to a great partnership with her, and being able to leverage her substantial industry experience and business acumen toward growing our brand.”

Sullivan comes to Rebecca Taylor with 25 years of experience, most recently serving as CEO of Edun Americas since 2009. Founded in 2006 by Bono and his wife Ali Hewson, Edun promotes trade in Africa through garment production. Janice joined Edun when LVMH bought a minority stake in the brand. Previously, she served as President of Calvin Klein Jeans, where she was responsible for all aspects of US operations, including merchandising, sales and marketing. Prior to that she held executive positions within Liz Claiborne Inc., including tenures as President of DKNY Jeans and Active.

“I am looking forward to partnering with Rebecca,” Sullivan said. “She has an aesthetic that uniquely blends softness with structure in a way that expresses the aspirations of many modern women. I look forward to expanding on her vision and working with the team at Kellwood to globally grow an already successful omnichannel platform.”

Rebecca Taylor is a distinctively feminine and modern lifestyle brand designed for and inspired by creative, dynamic women. Through its signature use of prints, unique color combinations and supreme attention to detail, the collection offers an aesthetic that juxtaposes fragility and beauty with strong sophistication. Rebecca Taylor is looking forward to continuing to develop as a lifestyle brand within its major retail and high-end specialty stores worldwide, as well as in its eight successful standalone Rebecca Taylor boutiques and through its rapidly growing website.

“I am confident that Janice will be a considerable asset to the Rebecca Taylor business,” said Kellwood CEO Joe Lombardi. “Not only does she possess a global perspective, she brings considerable breadth of experience in operational areas to the brand, including marketing and sales. Rebecca Taylor is a strong, dynamic brand with an unparalleled creative design leader. I believe that a partnership of the talents of Janice and Rebecca form a team that will enable us to achieve even greater goals.”

Kellwood Company designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of premier contemporary fashion brands, junior and women’s fashion labels, and private label apparel. Kellwood operates the e-commerce sites and retail stores for Rebecca Taylor. Kellwood is an affiliated portfolio company of Sun Capital Partners, Inc.

For more information please contact Cathy O’Brien, cathy.obrien@kellwood.com or visit www.RebeccaTaylor.com.