GPS Gap Inc

By Imani Moise 

Ralph Lauren Corp. said Thursday that Chief Executive Stefan Larsson, tapped less than two years ago to replace the company's founder atop the company, will leave amid "different views" about the business.

Mr. Larsson took the helm from Ralph Lauren himself in November 2015 amid sagging profit at the American fashion house, but he has struggled to turn the company around.

Shares of Ralph Lauren fell 9% to $7.87 premarket as the company also reported another slide in sales. The stock had dropped 10% over the past three months through Wednesday's close.

The company and Mr. Larsson said that the agreement to leave was mutual and a search for a replacement will be conducted.

"We have found that we have different views on how to evolve the creative and consumer-facing parts of the business," said Mr. Lauren, who still serves as chief creative officer.

Mr. Larsson, set to leave in May, joined the company from Gap Inc.'s Old Navy, where he was credited with helping revive sales at the casual apparel brand. Previously, he spent 15 years at fast-fashion retailer H&M.

In all for the fiscal third quarter, Ralph Lauren reported a profit of $82 million, or 98 cents a share, down from $131 million, or $1.54, a year earlier. Excluding items such as restructuring charges, earnings fell to $1.86 from $2.27. Revenue dropped 12% to $1.71.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of $1.64 on $1.71 billion in revenue.

Write to Imani Moise at imani.moise@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 02, 2017 09:08 ET (14:08 GMT)

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