Turnaround Letter Buy-rated Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN) announced that CEO Brad Dickerson will be leaving the company, to be replaced by Etsy chief operating officer Linda Kozlowski.
This is a positive change that keeps Blue Apron moving forward. Brad Dickerson did an impressive job of stabilizing Blue Apron’s operations and financial condition at a critical time, particularly the completion of its Linden warehouse facility and bringing the company closer to EBITDA-breakeven. This fit well with his expertise in finance and operations – prior to Blue Apron he was the CFO of UnderArmour, providing the finance and operational control that supported that company’s impressive growth.
Without his efforts, Blue Apron could easily have collapsed. In addition, his initiatives with Costco, Weight Watchers and others helped provide some positive momentum to the struggling company. He will remain an advisor to Blue Apron and we believe he is departing on reasonably positive terms.
The transition to the new CEO, Linda Kozlowski, brings new and now-needed capabilities to Blue Apron – that of reversing the company’s revenue decline. She was the chief operating officer of Etsy, helping lead that company to strong revenue growth. Kozlowski has considerable marketing and operating experience. Prior to Etsy she was the CEO of internet company Evernote and also headed global marketing for Alibaba in its Hong Kong office. She is currently a board member of Ralph Lauren and Styleseat.
Blue Apron also announced that co-founder Ilia Papas, currently Chief Technology Officer, will be leaving the company.
APRN shares closed up 7% yesterday. At its highest point during the day the shares had gained 19%, likely driven by short-covering.
Blue Apron re-affirmed its guidance for positive Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter and full year 2019 - another important milestone for investors
The company reports results on April 30th.
We continue to rate the shares of Blue Apron Holdings (APRN) a BUY with a $2 price target.
Disclosure Note: An employee of the Publisher owns APRN shares.