Saks President Resigns to Head Burberrys

New York-based Saks Holdings Inc., owner of upscale retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, announced that its president, Rose Marie Bravo, had resigned to head London-based Burberrys Worldwide. Philip Miller, Saks chairman and chief executive officer, will assume her responsibilities for merchandising and marketing activities. Bravo has been president since 1992. Industry analysts said her departure will let Saks shake up its executive ranks and look for new ways to boost sales and profit. Saks’ sales have weakened recently, and its profit was below Wall Street analysts’ expectations in the first quarter. Saks said its sales at stores open at least a year rose just 0.8% from a year ago. For its second quarter, which ended Aug. 2, Saks lost $14.18 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with a loss of $25.9 million, or 44 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Quarterly sales were $454.7 million, up from $403.7 million. Saks shares rose 81 cents to close at $23.63 on the NYSE.