Retail
Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said Kristin Scott, brand president of Hollister Co., was appointed president of global brands.
In this newly established role, Scott will be responsible for driving the growth of all Abercrombie & Fitch Co.’s brands globally, reporting to CEO Fran Horowitz. In conjunction, the company eliminated the individual brand president positions, with Stacia Andersen, brand president of Abercrombie & Fitch and Abercrombie Kids, leaving the company.
As part of this organizational change, the company will combine the leadership of planning and inventory management into a cross-brand role, overseeing Abercrombie & Fitch adult and Hollister brands, reporting to Scott. With the aim of driving greater agility, consistency and efficiency across the global business, this change follows a streamlining of its stores management and operations organization, and several senior appointments in merchandising, marketing and design made earlier in the year.
Core customer-facing functions, including marketing and product development, remain in branded structures to ensure continuing closeness to each brand’s customers, and will report to Scott.
J.Jill, Inc. said Dave Biese, executive vice president, and chief financial and operating officer, will be leaving the company on April 30. Biese will work closely with management to ensure a smooth transition to his successor.
J.Jill’s board of directors has retained executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles to assist in identifying a new chief financial officer. J.Jill, headquartered in Boston, is an omnichannel retailer and women’s apparel brand with more than 270 stores nationwide and an e-commerce platform.
Chico’s
Chico’s FAS Inc. announced the departure of Diane Ellis, president of the Chico’s brand.
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The company has initiated a search to identify a new Chico’s brand president. In the interim, the Chico’s brand will be led by Shelley Broader, the company’s CEO and president.
The company, through its Chico’s, White House Black Market and Soma brands, is an omnichannel specialty retailer of women’s apparel and accessories. It operates 1,431 stores in the U.S. and Canada, and through 83 international franchise locations in Mexico. The company’s merchandise is also available at chicos.com, chicosofftherack.com, whbm.com and soma.com, and third party channels.
Brands
Columbia Sportswear Company appointed John Soh as vice president and general manager of China, effective mid-February, after the Chinese Lunar New Year.
In his new role, Soh will report to Doug Morse, senior vice president of emerging brands and APAC (Asia-Pacific). He joins Columbia Sportswear from Lego, where he was a senior commercial director in the Asia Pacific region, based in Singapore. Prior to that, Soh was with Nike for two decades, working his way up to senior sales director in Greater China and Southeast Asia.
Footwear
Saucony
Saucony, a division of Wolverine Worldwide Inc., named Don Lane as chief marketing officer. Lane will report to Anne Cavassa, president of Saucony.
In this role, Lane will be responsible for providing strategic development and execution of Saucony’s global branding initiatives, including brand positioning, direct-to-consumer, advertising and digital strategies.
Lane joins Saucony from DraftKings, the Boston-based global sports technology and entertainment company, where he served as senior vice president for brand and creative. Prior to that, he spent more than two decades at global creative agency Arnold Worldwide, most recently as managing partner and executive director.