Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know
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It may be hard to believe given the number of OOO auto-replies in your inbox, but not everyone was on vacation in August—plenty of retail leaders across the C-suite were making major moves:
- Former Ulta CEO Mary Dillon is taking the helm as president and CEO of Foot Locker starting today, replacing Richard Johnson, who will remain as executive chairman until January 31. Dillon’s expertise in off-mall retail will be a particular asset to the company, Johnson told analysts.
- Adidas said CEO Kasper Rorsted will step down next year after leading the sporting-goods company since 2016. The move will “pave the way for a restart” for the company after “three challenging years,” supervisory board chairman Thomas Rabe said.
- Trish Donnelly, CEO of PVH Americas and Calvin Klein Global, has exited the company, with PVH planning to divide the position into two roles.
- Kellogg named Gary Pilnick, its vice chairman of corporate development and chief legal officer, as CEO of its cereal biz, following the food giant’s split into three separate companies in June.
- After ~40 years leading the brand, designer Eileen Fisher is handing over the CEO role to Patagonia chief product officer Lisa Williams.
- Bath & Body Works COO Chris Cramer resigned from his role, and the company said it doesn’t plan to fill it after cutting 130 positions in August.
- After its own round of layoffs from April to July, Gopuff tapped Panera CFO Ted Stedem as its new CFO.
New merch: Retailers also built out their merchandising teams in August. Tommy Hilfiger added Nadia Azria, former VP of merchandising at Nike, as its first chief merchandising officer.
Meanwhile, Sephora is boosting its global presence with a number of merchandising promotions. The beauty retailer said EVP and global chief merchandising officer Artemis Patrick will drop her North American responsibilities to focus on the global biz.
- Other promotions include Rauvan Dulay, SVP of global merchandising, business development, and strategy (who spoke to us about Sephora’s Accelerate program earlier this year), who will also transition to a global focus.