Personnel Updates
• Academy Sports & Outdoors (187) said that J.K. Symancyk has resigned as CEO. The retailer has appointed Ken C. Hicks as Chairman and CEO.
• Avenue Stores, LLC (40) has appointed Mark Walsh as CEO. He succeeds Liz Williams. The retailer also recently named Scott Hampson as COO.
• Columbia Sportswear Company (167) named Michael Richardson as VP of Global Merchandising.
• David’s Bridal (92) announced that Paul Pressler stepped down from his role as CEO, and has been succeeded by Scott Key. Mr. Pressler will remain chairman.
• Destination Maternity Corporation (33) announced Ronald Masciantonio, Exec VP and Chief Administrative Officer, has left the company. The company also announced it has appointed Marla Ryan as CEO.
• Eddie Bauer Inc. (66) has promoted Damien Huang to the role of President. The company also announced that Mike Africa has been named VP of Retail and E-commerce.
• Gap Inc. (248) has named Neil Fiske as President and CEO of its Gap brand.
• Hudsons Bay Company (625) announced Vanessa LaFebvre is the company’s new President.
• JCPenney Company, Inc. (99) announced Marvin R. Ellison, President and CEO, is no longer with the company.
• Macy’s Inc. (156) announced that Paula A. Price will be appointed CFO, effective July 9, 2018. She will succeed Karen Hoguet who plans to retire at the end of the fiscal year. The retailer also named Naveen Krishna as Chief Technology Officer.
• Nordstrom Inc. (253) appointed Ken Worzel, President of Nordstrom.com, as its first Chief Digital Officer.
• Rue 21 (92) has appointed Laurie Van Brunt as president and CEO. She succeeds Michael C. Appel, who will continue to serve as chairman. Michele Pascoe was named Senior VP and CFO. The company also announced it named Stephen Sommers as Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer.
• Signet Jewelers Limited (124) has named Mary Elizabeth Finn as Chief People Officer. The company also announced Stephen Lovejoy has been named Chief Supply Chain Officer.
Mergers and Acquisitions
• Hudson’s Bay Company announced that it will sell its digital shopping business Gilt to SmartBargains.com LP, owner of Rue La La. The deal is slated to close in July.
Industry Insight
• Canada Goose Inc. has announced expansion plans in China, with the launch of two new stores and a regional headquarters.
Real Estate
• Canada Goose Inc. plans to open three additional locations this fall. Two Canadian locations in Montreal and Vancouver will be joined by a third unit at The Mall at Shorts Hills in New Jersey.
• Gucci America Inc. has opened a new 10,000 sq. ft. store in the SoHo area of New York.
• Hudson’s Bay Company has announced plans to close 10 Lord & Taylor locations, including its iconic Fifth Avenue location in New York. The company said it would close the locations through 2019.
• La Maison Simons Inc. announced plans to open a new fulfillment center in Quebec City in 2020.
• Lands’ End Inc. opened a 5,000 sq. ft. store in Burlington, MA. It is the second of five stores the company plans to open in 2018.
• Macy’s Inc. plans to open a Backstage outlet store in two more malls in Dallas-Fort Worth, at Galleria Dallas and North East Mall in Hurst. Both stores will be almost 20,000 square feet of the existing buildings. The retailer plans to open 100 additional Backstage stores this year, and is also soon opening a distribution center for Backstage specifically in Columbus, OH.
• Nordstrom Inc. announced it will open two new locations in Los Angeles County. A 25,000 sq. ft. Nordstrom Rack store will open at The Vineyards at Porter Ranch in spring 2019 and a 23,640-sq. ft. Nordstrom Rack location will open at Plaza El Segundo, in El Segundo, in fall 2019.
• Puma North America announced it will open a three-level, 29,000 sq. ft. flagship store on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 49th Street in New York City.
• Sears Holdings Corporation released a list of 63 underperforming Sears and Kmart stores set to close by September, after originally saying it planned to shutter 72 locations.
• Uniqlo will open four stores in Canada this fall. The total includes three locations in the greater Toronto area, at Vaughan Mills, CF Markville and Square One Shopping Centre, and a store in British Columbia, at Coquitlam Centre, Coquitlam.
• Vince Holding Corp has announced plans to open two new locations this month at The Domain in Austin, TX, and in Palisades Village in Los Angeles, CA.
Just because we don’t mention it here doesn’t mean it didn’t happen – or we didn’t capture it. In the past four weeks, we’ve updated more than 373 companies in the Apparel Specialty Stores and Department Stores & Shoe Retailers PLUS Databases, with many of those companies’ records updated at multiple points.
