Retail
J.Crew
J.Crew Group announced that a mutual agreement was reached with its board of directors and CEO James Brett under which he will step down immediately.
Brett’s responsibilities will be assumed by an office of the CEO, comprised of four senior J.Crew executives who have significant operational and merchandising experience. They are Michael Nicholson, president and chief operating officer; Adam Brotman, president and chief experience officer; Lynda Markoe, chief administrative officer, and Libby Wadle, president of the Madewell Brand. The office of the CEO will manage the company’s operations as the board works to establish a permanent management structure.
Brett was named CEO in June 2017. Prior to that, he was president of specialty home furnishing company West Elm, a member of the Williams-Sonoma Inc. portfolio.
Nicholson has held his post since 2016. Prior to that, he served as the company’s chief financial officer. Brotman has been in his current position since joining the company in March. Before that, he was executive vice president of global retail operations and partner digital engagement at Starbucks Corp.
Markoe has held her post since September 2017. She previously served as the company’s executive vice president of human resources. Wadle became president of Madewell Brand in May 2017. She had previously been president of J.Crew Brand since 2013.
J.Crew, which will report results for the third quarter on Nov. 29, announced last quarter that it had returned to positive comparable sales growth in its J.Crew brand for the first time in four years, as well as strong performance at Madewell, putting the brand on track to become a $1 billion brand. As of Aug. 28, the company operated 229 J.Crew stores, 122 Madewell units and 175 factory stores, as eel as the jcrew.com, jcrewfactory.com and madewell.com e-commerce sites.
Victoria’s Secret
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L Brands Inc, named John Mehas as CEO of its Victoria’s Secret Lingerie division, effective early 2019, replacing Jan Singer, who has resigned.
Mehas is currently president of Tory Burch. Previously, he led Club Monaco, a Polo Ralph Lauren brand, for 13 years as president and CEO.
Brands
Columbia Sportswear
Columbia Sportswear Co. appointed Troy Sicotte as vice president of sales, North America, for its Mountain Hardwear brand. Sicotte will be based at Mountain Hardwear’s headquarters in Richmond, Calif., where he will develop and drive all aspects of the brand’s North America sales.
Prior to joining Mountain Hardwear, Sicotte took a two-year leave of the industry to pursue making a career of his hobby in the Automotive Aftermarket and Motorsport, leading 034Motorsport as global director of sales. He began his career in sales with Birkenstock USA followed by more than a decade at The North Face.
Sicotte reports to Mountain Hardwear president Joe Vernachio. Mountain Hardwear, Inc. distributes its products through specialty outdoor retailers in the U.S. and 34 countries worldwide.
Footwear
Nike Inc. appointed John W. Rogers Jr. to the company’s board of directors. Rogers is founder, chairman, CEO and chief investment officer of Ariel Investments.
Rogers also serves as a board member of Exelon Corp., McDonald’s Corp. and The New York Times Co. He is also a director of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Sorell
The Sorell brand, a division of Columbia Sportswear Co. with a product array that includes active outdoor apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment, announced leadership promotions.
Erin Sander was promoted to vice president of Sorel global product. Sander previously served as Sorel’s global product director and senior product line manager for more than seven years.
Taylor Vaugh was promoted to vice president of Sorel North American Sales. Vaugh joined Sorel as U.S. director of sales three years ago.
Natalie Hayes was promoted to vice president of Sorel global brand marketing and North American e-commerce marketing. Hayes joined Sorel in 2017 as global brand director.
Altra
VF Corp. appointed Todd Dalhausser to the position of brand president for Altra. Dalhausser will report to Steve Murray, VF’s vice president of strategic products.
Dalhausser joins VF from Wolverine Worldwide, where he served as senior vice president of sales for Saucony North America. Previously, he managed Saucony/Hind’s apparel business, where he oversaw design, development and product merchandising.
With Dalhausser’s appointment, Brian Beckstead, co-founder of performance footwear brand Altra, to assume a new role as chief marketing officer. In this role, Beckstead will be responsible for all product and marketing for the brand. Beckstead will report to Dalhausser.