Rihanna Brings In Retail Expertise at Savage x Fenty
Rihanna is more retail ready than ever.
By naming Anthropologie-alum Hillary Super as chief executive officer of her Savage x Fenty lingerie brand, the fashion, music and beauty superstar has handed over a key position to a bricks-and-mortar veteran with 25 years of specialty retail experience.
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While sources confirmed that Rihanna would remain hands-on as executive chair, the appointment signals an important evolution for Savage x Fenty.
“As the brand expands further into retail, in addition to wholesale, it’s important to have a leader with extensive experience in this area, and Hillary has a proven track record to lead this growth,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The brand started rolling out retail early last year, when Rihanna announced on Instagram, “we coming in hot.”
The first store in Las Vegas was followed by openings in or around Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Brooklyn, New York, and beyond for seven locations total.
Now, Super steps in.
Most recently, she spent four years at Urban Outfitters Inc., rising to be global CEO of its Anthropologie Group, a position she left in April 2021. Before that, she worked in merchandising and general management at a host of brands, including Gap, Old Navy, American Eagle and Guess.
That gives Super a long retail résumé to help build up Savage x Fenty, but that is not the only experience she brings to the brand.
At Anthropologie, Super launched Anthroplogie’s first plus line in 2019. She told Wall Street analysts that year that 70 percent of the line’s sales came from existing Anthropologie shoppers.
“These are customers who previously could not fully participate in our brand,” Super said. “With the addition of Plus, they have become happier, higher value customers, increasing their spend by 30 percent. The new customers we have acquired through APlus are also high-value and high-frequency shoppers with an average [order value] that exceeds the brand average. We have focused marketing efforts going forward on acquiring new customers and continuing our growth in this segment.”
That focus will help Super at Fenty X Savage, which has focused on inclusivity of all kinds — including size — since its start five years ago.
A little experience chatting up the financial types might not hurt either.
Just over a year ago, Rihanna was said to be making the rounds on Wall Street, with the brand’s backer, consumer giant L Catterton, helping to make connections and lay the groundwork for a possible IPO.
The process was said to be at an early stage just before financial conditions brought the IPO market to a near-complete standstill for fashion brands and most other companies. But having a CEO with public company experience never hurts and helps keep the brand’s options open.
Super could also help structure the company for its next leg of growth.
“These entrepreneurial brands need the structure and disciplinary foundation to withstand the fluctuations in the fashion consumer arena,” said Elaine Hughes, managing director of executive search firm E.A. Hughes, a division of Solomon Page. “Hilary can provide that through her leadership.”
But the brand will continue to have Rihanna at the top of the corporate organization chart — and top of mind for her many fans. The seemingly omnipresent Rihanna is also fronting the latest Louis Vuitton campaign, the first conceived by the brand’s men’s creative director Pharrell Williams.
The full campaign was released on Monday, when a scan of the fashion headlines underscored similar themes in celebrity-brands across fashion and beauty.
Good American, the size-inclusive fashion line founded by Khloé Kardashian and Emma Grede, just opened its first store at Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles. And Harry Styles’ Pleasing lifestyle brand just named Shaun Kearney as its first CEO.
Celebrities are clearly sharpening their chops in the corporate world, building with business talent and, increasingly, zeroing in on retail.
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