Feb 28 - Apparel and shoe company Kenneth Cole Productions Inc posted a narrower quarterly loss as sales growth was spurred by a jump in licensing revenues and said its Chief Executive Jill Granoff will leave the company, effective immediately.

Kenneth Cole's video campaign 2011

The company's founder Kenneth Cole, who is the chairman of the company's board, will replace Granoff on an interim basis. Granoff, who had been the company's CEO since May 2008, also resigned her seat on the company's board.

For the fourth quarter, the company posted a loss of $2.7 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with loss of $52 million, or $2.88 a share, a year ago.

Revenue rose nearly 11 percent to $120.8 million for the quarter, narrowly surpassing analysts' estimates of $120.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Licensing revenue rose 18.9 percent for the quarter.

Shares of the New York based company closed at $13.98 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Viraj Nair in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy)