Why Has Michael Kors Appointed its First Ever CMO?

Michael Kors has announced it is appointing Corey Moran its first Chief Marketing Officer. 

In the newly created role, which comes into effect April 6, Corey will oversee an integrated marketing organisation as the company looks to increase earnings following a revenue decline of 21% over its past two fiscal years. 

John D. Idol, Chairman and CEO of Capri Holdings – parent company to Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo and Versace – says of the appointment: “This new position reflects Michael Kors’ continued focus on strengthening its leadership team and advancing its marketing capabilities to support long term growth.”

A background in luxury marketing 

Prior to this role, Corey spent close to ten years at Google – most recently as its Head of Industry for Fashion and Luxury. 

He spent a similar amount of time at Coty, across brands such as Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Chloé, Bottega Veneta, Miu Miu and Balenciaga. 

This includes positions such as Category Lead for Personal Care and Finance, Marketing Director of Luxury and Marc Jacobs’ Senior Marketing Manager. 

Corey says: “Michael Kors is an iconic global brand and I am honored to step into this role at such a pivotal moment. 

“Bringing together brand storytelling, consumer engagement initiatives and data creates an opportunity to build stronger connections with consumers while driving meaningful business results. 

“I look forward to partnering with the team to unlock this next chapter of growth.”

A jet set strategy

According to John, this new appointment will support Michael Kors’ “focus on strengthening brand desirability and driving customer engagement on a global scale,” as the company continues “to evolve our organisation and become more consumer centric”.

The company has shifted its focus towards accessible luxury through its ‘Jet Set’ strategy, which is primarily targeting a 25-54 year old age range with an aspirational lifestyle, to distinguish itself from pure luxury brands. 

Corey’s appointment will bring brand communications, content creation and consumer data analytics under one umbrella, which Michael Kors believes will help better align its product storytelling with data analytics and wider consumer engagement insights. 

A challenging fiscal period

Michael Kors has experienced a challenging financial period in recent years. In fiscal 2025, the company’s annual revenue fell from US$3.88bn in 2024 to US$3.02bn, having seen declining sales and reduced consumer demand. 

The brand faced pressures from a shrinking luxury market, with Q4 2025 revenue specifically dropping 15.6%. 

In 2025, the brand announced plans to close five UK stores, which falls under its goal to reduce its number of locations to 650 globally by the end of 2026. 

Despite this, John said in the company’s earnings report that it felt “encouraged” by its Q1 2026 results, which saw an operating margin of 2% for the entirety of Capri Holdings.

He said: “We are encouraged by our first quarter results. Trends improved sequentially leading to both revenue and earnings per share that exceeded our expectations. 

“This performance demonstrates the progress we are making as we execute against our strategic initiatives to energise our luxury fashion house.

“While still early, we are beginning to see signs that our strategies are working.”