US clothing company Abercrombie & Fitch is axing the role of chief operating officer in an effort to streamline the business and support its bid for organisational agility.

Under the new structure, the company’s chief financial officer, chief information officer, head of supply chain and head of transformation office will all report directly to the CEO.

Joanne Crevoiserat, current COO of the company, will leave following a short transition period.

“Based on the progress of our company-wide transformation initiatives, and the continuing focus on driving additional agility and efficiency throughout the business, we have decided to eliminate the COO role,” says Fran Horowitz, CEO, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. 

In its fourth-quarter numbers last month, profit was up from $74.2m to $96.9m, despite sales falling 3% year-on-year.

Last year the retailer announced it would be closing 60 stores in the US following a failed attempt to sell the business the year before. The group was mulling a sale following wider first-quarter 2017 net losses of $61.7m from $39.6m and a 4% sales slip to $661.1m.

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