LOS ANGELES — Andreas Kurz, former president of international licensing at Polo Ralph Lauren Corp., joined Seven For All Mankind on Monday as chief executive officer, saying he wants to make it “a lifestyle brand.’’
The selection came after the disclosure last week that Seven has a new partner, Bear Stearns Merchant Banking, which bought a 50 percent stake in the Los Angeles-based contemporary jeans label.
“It’s a very exciting opportunity to think that in four years the company has grown to $200 million [in sales] with only women’s denim and mostly in the United States,” said Kurz, who was ceo of Diesel USA from 2000 to 2003. Before that, he had a 13-year career at Hugo Boss.
The appointment of Kurz, 45, confirmed a WWD report.
Along with a growing men’s line, Seven launched a children’s line at Fashion Coterie and has dabbled in T-shirt and cashmere tops. Kurz said the brand has legs for shoes, bags, eyewear and fragrances. “It’s positioned to be truly a lifestyle brand,” he said.
Kurz will report to Peter Koral, the company’s chairman and president, who founded Seven in 2000 along with Michael Glasser and Jerome Dahan.
The founders became embroiled in a dispute over the partnership, and a lawsuit was filed in December 2002 in Los Angeles Superior Court. A judge in September 2004 ruled that Dahan and Glasser were entitled to $50 million for their 50 percent stake in Seven, and that they also should receive $5.5 million in profits for 2001 and 2002.
Bear Stearns’ recapitalization deal followed a settlement Koral paid in January, ending a two-year court battle with his former partners.