A proposed new member for the board of directors at Christopher & Banks didn't last long.
In an odd sequence of events, the women's apparel retailer announced before the market opened Monday that it agreed to nominate Bruce J. Klatsky, a former longtime industry executive, to its board. He was to stand for election at its shareholders meeting in June.
The activist shareholder who selected him, Jonathan Duskin of New York-based Macellum Capital Management, said in the news release he was "thrilled" by Klatsky's willingness to serve on the board. The company's chief executive, LuAnn Via, and its board chairwoman, Lisa Wardell, also issued statements welcoming him and noting the value he could bring to the Plymouth-based company.
Three hours later, the company took it back. It issued a follow-up news release saying that Klatsky withdrew from consideration "due to a conflict discovered early this morning that will prevent him from serving."
Monica Dahl, the retailer's senior vice president of marketing, did not have much more light to shed on what happened.
"The company was notified this a.m. that there were several material conflicts that caused Mr. Klatsky to withdraw from the nomination," she wrote in an e-mail.
Klatsky retired about a decade ago as chief executive of PVH Corp., a global apparel company that includes brands such as Calvin Klein. He currently serves on the boards of Perry Ellis International and Gazal Corp., an Australian clothing company.
His short-lived nomination follows a major shake-up of Christopher & Banks' board of directors. Last month, after reporting another quarterly drop in sales and profits, the company announced that six of its board members would not seek re-election and that four new directors would be joining the board.
