Rihanna Steps Down as Savage X Fenty CEO
Rihanna’s lingerie brand, Savage X Fenty, has a new CEO: Hillary Super, former CEO of Anthropologie Group and a veteran of such apparel companies as Guess, American Eagle and Gap. According to various reports, Vogue Business, Rihanna will remain the company’s executive chairman.
Hiring Super as CEO could help Savage X Fenty’s growth ambitions and lend it more credibility on Wall Street. Last year, the company raised $125 million, bringing its total funding to $310 million, reports claimed Savage X Fenty was working with banks in preparation for a possible initial public stock offering at a $3 billion valuation. The company’s success raised Rihanna’s personal net worth to $1.7 billion, according to Forbes, making the singer the second-wealthiest female entertainer behind Oprah Winfrey.
Savage X Fenty, which celebrated its fifth anniversary in May, is co-owned by Rihanna and a group of investors that includes luxury goods giant LVMH and Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners. In addition to an online store, the company has brick-and-mortar locations in Las Vegas, Houston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Garden City, NY, and Arlington, VA.
Rihanna gives Savage X Fenty star power and a level of visibility few upstart apparel companies can match. The brand has created four television shows with Amazon Prime Video and allows viewers to buy the products they see in the videos. What’s more, Savage X Fenty debuted a football-themed collection ahead of the singer’s performance at the Super Bowl LVII half time show in February that attracted 118.7 million viewers in the United States — topping Katy Perry’s 2015 performance for the largest audience ever.
Colin Stutz
Billboard