By
Bloomberg
Published
Dec 12, 2023
Shares of Canada’s Gildan Activewear Inc. fell as much as 14% on Monday, the most since March 2020, after an apparent conflict with the clothing manufacturer’s board led to the sudden departure of its chief executive officer.
The Montreal-based company appointed former Fruit of the Loom executive Vincent Tyra to the roles of president and CEO, ending the 40-year career of co-founder Glenn Chamandy.
“We thank Glenn for his service and wish him well,” Chairman Donald Berg said in a statement early Monday. He didn’t provide a reason for Chamandy’s exit.
About two hours later, Chamandy in a statement said he received a notice Sunday according to which Gildan terminated his employment “without cause.”
“It is unfortunate that my vision of the path forward has differed from that of other board members,” he added. Gildan and Chamandy didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Gildan’s stock traded at C$44.42 in Toronto at 12:51 p.m., down 10.5% from the previous close. The company, known for its “fit for print” T-shirts that are sold under the Gildan and American Apparel brands, grew its market capitalization to C$8.5 billion ($6.3 billion) as of Friday’s close after shares had soared almost 34% since the beginning of the year.
Chamandy assumed sole responsibility as CEO in 2004 when his brother, Greg Chamandy, stepped down as co-leader. Glenn Chamandy owned C$156 million worth of Gildan shares, or about 2% of the company, at the end of November, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“Glenn has been a forerunner in our industry, taking Gildan from a small family-owned business to a leading apparel company with over $3 billion in revenues,” said Berg.
The company’s board “has been focused on succession planning for some time,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Sabahat Khan said in a note to clients. “The driver behind today’s announcement (which the investment community is likely to consider a bit of a surprise) was somewhat of a disagreement with Chamandy on the timing of the transition,” Khan said.
Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, Canada’s second-largest pension fund, in 2022 divested from Gildan after its head Charles Emond said the fund was opposed to companies that don’t pay their fair share of tax. Gildan’s effective income tax rate stood at 4.4% in 2022, according to the firm’s annual report.
Tyra will join the company on Feb. 12, 2024. Meanwhile, Craig Leavitt, a Gildan board member since 2018 and former head of Kate Spade & Co., will act as interim CEO.
