Capri Holdings, the owner of Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo, announced on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, that Justin Boxford will become its chief executive on 4 January 2027. He succeeds John D. Idol, who is retiring as chairman and chief executive after 23 years leading the company.
The key facts
- 4 January 2027: Boxford becomes chief executive and joins the board.
- 31 March 2027: Idol stays on as a senior adviser until this date.
- New chairman: Robin Freestone, currently lead director, becomes independent chairman. The roles of chairman and chief executive, both held by Idol, will be split.
- $809 million: Capri’s revenue in its most recent quarter, down 5.5% from a year earlier.
What Capri announced
The details were set out in a company statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Freestone said the appointment followed a search led by the board. WWD had reported the night before the announcement that Boxford was expected to take the role, according to WWD via Yahoo Finance.
Idol said in the statement that, with the company on course to return to growth in its fourth quarter, this was “the perfect time for Capri to transition” to a new chief executive. He said he had worked with Boxford before, when Boxford helped build the Michael Kors fragrance business at The Estée Lauder Companies.
Who is Justin Boxford?
Boxford has nearly 30 years of experience in luxury and beauty, according to Capri’s statement. He joined The Estée Lauder Companies in 2004 and was most recently global president of its luxury beauty brands. Before that he was global brand president of Estée Lauder and Aerin Beauty.
Earlier, he led the skincare brand La Mer for five years, a period in which Capri says the brand more than doubled in size. He also held senior roles in Hong Kong covering China and Asia Pacific, and worked in travel retail and marketing, where his responsibilities included Michael Kors fragrances. He previously worked at LVMH, Unilever and L’Oréal.
John Idol’s 23 years
Idol became chief executive of Michael Kors in 2003 and chairman in 2011, according to Drapers. Under him, Michael Kors grew into a multi-billion-dollar brand and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company bought Jimmy Choo in 2017 and Versace in a deal announced in 2018, and then renamed itself Capri Holdings.
This is the second time Capri has planned for Idol’s succession. In August 2021, the company said Joshua Schulman would join as chief executive of the Michael Kors brand and take over from Idol as group chief executive in September 2022, according to a company filing from the time. In March 2022, Capri announced that Schulman would leave and Idol would stay on. Schulman is now chief executive of Burberry.
The company Boxford inherits
Capri is smaller than it was two years ago. In August 2023, Tapestry, the owner of Coach, agreed to buy Capri for $8.5 billion. A US federal judge blocked the deal in October 2024 after a challenge by the Federal Trade Commission, and the two companies ended the agreement the following month, according to Glossy.
In April 2025, Capri agreed to sell Versace to the Prada Group for $1.375 billion in cash, according to Chain Store Age. The sale was completed in December 2025, leaving Capri with two brands.
In the quarter to September 2026, Capri’s revenue fell 5.5% to $809 million, according to its results statement. Michael Kors revenue fell 8.6% to $663 million. Jimmy Choo revenue rose 11.5% to $146 million, and the brand moved from an operating loss to a small operating profit. Capri raised its revenue forecast for the full year to about $3.42 billion, and said it expects Michael Kors to return to growth in the fourth quarter.
Analysts at TD Cowen said in late October that trends at Michael Kors had improved, but that they wanted “additional proof points” before accepting the forecast of a return to growth, according to Retail Dive.
Sources: Capri Holdings statement, 11 November 2026 (SEC filing); Capri Holdings second-quarter results; WWD via Yahoo Finance; Drapers; Retail Dive; FashionUnited; Capri statement, August 2021; Capri statement, March 2022; Glossy; Chain Store Age.
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