Dive Brief:
- Ralph Lauren tapped Naveen Seshadri to serve as global chief digital officer last month, the executive said in a Tuesday post on LinkedIn.
- Seshadri, who joined the fashion retailer in April 2024 as the global head of consumer technology and digital commerce in North America, said he will shape a connected digital ecosystem “from digital commerce and in-store technology, to global consumer experience and innovation.”
- The appointment comes as Ralph Lauren reaches the end of a three-year strategic growth initiative introduced to investors in September 2022 called “Next Great Chapter: Accelerate.” The three-prong plan aims to return the clothing brand to its luxury roots and foster sustainable long-term growth, partially enabled by its “best-in-class digital technology and analytics,” the company said in a press release.
Dive Insight:
Ralph Lauren continues to place an emphasis on digital transformation to upgrade the back-end technology driving its consumer business.
During a February earnings call, CFO Justin Picicci told investors, “This new buying framework is just one element of our upcoming next-generation transformation strategy, which will bring together our new global ERP system with integrated business planning tools and more productive, agile logistics to align with our increasingly global [direct-to-consumer]-oriented business going forward.”
Its push toward modernization could also be seen in the revitalization effort that started in 2022 under former chief digital and technology officer Janet Sherlock, who retired in September. Sherlock’s successor, Christopher Conrad, left in January and is now chief technology and information officer at clothing retailer Aritzia.
Seshadri is moving into the role with years of experience behind him, having served in executive positions at Walt Disney Company, Foot Locker, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Lonely Planet.
BJ’s brought Seshadri into its omnichannel team as VP of digital commerce and experience to lead digital customer experience strategy, e-commerce merchandising, digital marketing and digital insights and analytics, the retailer said in a 2018 press release. BJ’s then SVP and Chief Digital Officer, Rafeh Masood, noted at the time that Seshadri’s “extensive experience in driving omnichannel transformations and his leadership will help as we work to deliver more to our members.”
A sharp focus on digital maturity is of interest to Ralph Lauren, according to Sky Canaves, a principal analyst at Emarketer, who described Ralph Lauren as one of the “standout brands in luxury.”
Digital is “critically important” on the backend of the business, where the company can optimize operations and manage customer interactions with physical, digital and social properties on the path to purchase, Canaves told CIO Dive.
In February, Ralph Lauren reported 11% revenue growth to $2.1 billion for Q3 of fiscal 2025. The company also raised expectations for 6% to 7% in constant currency revenues for fiscal 2025, which ended in March. The company is expected to deliver Q4 and fiscal 2025 earnings later this month.
The retailer did not respond to a request for comment on Seshadri’s appointment before publication.
