Gary Muto, the former Ascena CEO whose career also spans Ann Taylor, Gap and Banana Republic, has been named chief executive officer of Billy Reid, succeeding Jeff Zens, who exited the designer menswear brand last week. At the same time, Hong Kong-based product development and sourcing firm Newtimes Group — owner of Robert Talbott — has made a strategic investment in the company. Terms were not disclosed.

The deal converts a production relationship into an ownership stake. Newtimes has served as Billy Reid's production partner for several years, and founder Billy Reid said the deepening ties now give the brand direct leverage over product development and manufacturing. "They're now a full-on strategic partner and invested in the business, which is truly exciting," Reid said. "It gives us some really great opportunities in regard to product development and production."

What does the sourcing tie-up change commercially?

For sourcing and supply-chain watchers, the key line comes from Muto himself: "We now have a partner who has sourcing capabilities worldwide. There isn't a place we can't go because they have expertise on the ground." He argued the partnership lets Billy Reid be "nimble and change on a dime" if production or market conditions shift — a claim vendors will judge against Newtimes' delivery record, but one that signals the brand intends to use its new backer's footprint for speed and flexibility rather than cost alone.

Alex Angelchik, group managing director of Newtimes, did not respond to requests for comment, and no financial figures were disclosed. Muto will also advise Newtimes-owned Robert Talbott, though Billy Reid remains his primary mandate. He will stay based in New York while commuting to the brand's Florence, Alabama headquarters.

What does Muto inherit?

The brand Reid founded in 2004 — after shuttering his earlier William Reid label in New York — has a strong design reputation, anchored by the 2010 GQ/CFDA Best New Menswear Designer award and the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund the same year, followed by the CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year title in 2012. But the business has cycled through financial instability and, during the pandemic, cut 50 percent of its product categories. Reid said the company has since been rebuilding that assortment "slowly and smartly."

Under Zens, a former Levi Strauss executive who joined in 2019, the company concentrated on its own 16 stores and acquired the direct-to-consumer arm of AI-powered made-to-measure operator Knot Standard in spring 2024. Knot Standard had been producing the brand's made-to-measure suits and holds a minority stake in the combined business. Kemmons Wilson Companies, the Memphis investment firm run by descendants of the Holiday Inn founders, has been the primary backer for many years.

Reid credited Zens with cleaning up the "structural side" of the business and handling the Knot Standard purchase, but said the brand "needed some new energy" and, with Newtimes on board, "we need to take a few more big steps."

Where is the growth expected?

Custom is one near-term expansion area. Since the Knot Standard deal, Billy Reid can produce one-off garments for musicians, actors and other clients, and plans call for extending made-to-measure into knitwear and leather outerwear beyond tailored clothing. "Our Bond peacoat is our number-one selling piece of outerwear, but if someone wants that in a beautiful 100 percent Loro Piana cashmere, we can make that," Reid said, noting the service also covers sizes not generally produced off the rack.

Muto said he sees the store fleet, e-commerce, custom capabilities and wholesale penetration as the core assets. "I have a history of repositioning and growing vertically integrated brands," he said, pointing to the founder himself as the brand's differentiator. Two doors are closing, at least for now: Billy Reid will not re-enter women's wear — "let's focus in on menswear, since that's what we do," Muto said — and has no immediate plan to return to New York Fashion Week, though Muto floated possible alternate formats such as Shindig, Reid's consumer-facing festival in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, which has run sporadically since 2009 and which Reid hopes to revive.

With the ownership structure now set and a vertical-brand specialist in the CEO seat, the next signal to watch is whether the Newtimes-backed sourcing engine translates into faster category rebuilds and expanded made-to-measure capacity through 2025.