Brands
G-III Apparel Group appointed Fran Della Badia as president of AM Retail Group Inc., the retail subsidiary of G-III that operates stores and websites for its DKNY, Wilsons Leather, G.H. Bass and Karl Lagerfeld Paris brands, and stores for the Calvin Klein Performance brand.
Della Badia previously served as CEO of Worth Collection Ltd., a women’s fashion apparel company, and Bonobos, a leading men’s wear retailer. Prior to her time at Bonobos, she worked for more than 15 years at Coach, ultimately serving as president of North American Retail.
In addition to its retail unit, G-III designs, sources and markets apparel and accessories under owned, licensed and private label brands. G-III’s owned brands include DKNY, Donna Karan, Vilebrequin, G. H. Bass, Andrew Marc, Marc New York, Eliza J and Jessica Howard. G- III has fashion licenses under the Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Karl Lagerfeld Paris, Kenneth Cole, Cole Haan, Guess, Vince Camuto, Levi’s and Dockers brands.
British fashion designer Simon James Spurr was named global creative director for 7 For All Mankind, a division of Delta Galil Industries Ltd.
Spurr, an accomplished designer who brings critical acclaim from his namesake brand Simon Spurr, will launch his first collection for 7 For All Mankind for Spring 2020 as the brand celebrates its 20th anniversary. Spurr joins 7 For All Mankind from upscale contemporary men’s wear brand EIDOS, where he served as creative director.
In his new role, Spurr will lead the global teams with a new vision for product that bridges 7 For All Mankind’s heritage as a premium denim brand with a new, modern approach across classifications. He will be located in Los Angeles, where his team of direct reports has been strategically assembled with design talent that reflects the brand’s new product strategy. Reporting directly to Spurr will be 7 For All Mankind women’s design director Larissa Noble and men’s design director Wes Austin.
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Margaret Maldonado, a co-founder of L’Agence, also joined the company as senior design director of women’s ready-to-wear, reporting to Noble. Alessandra Pesavento, formerly of Diesel, also joined the international team as director of design and merchandising. Pesavento will be based at the 7 For All Mankind international offices in Mendrisio, Switzerland, and will be responsible for executing Spurr’s creative direction with product that is locally relevant to consumers in Europe.
Textiles
Cashmere and Camel Hair Institute
The Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute (CCMI), the organization for processors of luxury animal hair fiber, named Fabio Garzena as its next president, the second person to hold this position in the 34-year history of the organization.
He succeeds Karl Spilhaus, who organized the Boston-based CCMI in 1984 and served as president until now. Spilhaus will continue to counsel the institute as president emeritus.
Garzena joined CCMI in 2015 as European representative. Before that, he was with Australian Wool Innovation and the Woolmark Company. Garzena will operate from Graglia, Italy.
Concurrent with these changes, the institute announced that David Trumbull has been named USA representative and will manage CCMI’s U.S. affairs from an office in Boston. Kenneth Shimizu, Japan representative, will continue to manage the institute’s activities in Asia from an office in Tokyo.
Unifi Inc.
Unifi Inc., a manufacturer of synthetic and recycled yarns, appointed Albert “Al” P. Carey as non-executive chairman of its board of directors. Carey has played an active role with Unifi since being elected to its board in January 2018.
Kevin Hall, CEO of Unifi, said in his new role, Carey will leverage his commercial experience, commitment to creating more sustainable supply chains, and ability to form partnerships with brands and retailers to help ensure the continued growth of Unifi’s innovative and sustainable product portfolio through market segment and geographic expansion.
Carey currently serves as CEO of PepsiCo North America, a role he has held since March 2016. He also serves on the board of directors of The Home Depot Inc. and The Food Marketing Institute.
Retail
Destination Maternity
Destination Maternity Corporation named Dave J. Helkey to the position of chief financial officer and chief operating officer, reporting to CEO Marla Ryan, effective Jan. 21.
In his new role, Helkey will oversee the company’s finance, accounting, IT, real estate, inventory management, sourcing, human resources, legal and warehouse/logistics departments.
Destination Maternity also announced it entered into a consulting agreement to engage Doug Goeke to serve in a newly created role of chief transformation officer, reporting directly to the board of directors. Goeke brings extensive financial, operational and turnaround experience and will provide leadership and oversight of the company’s multi-year strategic plan.
Helkey most recently served as the chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Things Remembered, a privately held omnichannel retail company with 440 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Goeke most recently was senior vice president and general manager of Support Services North America at Babcock International Group.
Destination Maternity Corp. operates 1,108 retail locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, including 474 stores, predominantly under the trade names Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod and Destination Maternity, and 634 leased department locations.
National Retail Federation
The National Retail Federation (NRF) Foundation elected Jeff Gennette, chairman and CEO of Macy’s Inc., as chairman of the NRF Foundation board of directors.
Gennette succeeds Karen Katz, former president and CEO of the Neiman Marcus Group. Gennette, who will serve a two-year term, was elected as the board held its winter meeting in New York on Friday as part of “NRF 2019: Retail’s BIG Show.”
The NRF Foundation also elected Danielle Kirgan, chief human resources officer at Macy’s, to its board. The foundation’s mission is to shape retail’s future by building awareness of the industry, developing talent through education, experiences and scholarships, and fostering career growth among people who work in retail.
Debenhams Plc said chairman Ian Cheshire will leave and CEO Sergio Bucher will quit the board of director after more than half of shareholders opposed them at the British retailer’s annual meeting on Thursday.
The company said Bucher will stay on as CEO. Terry Duddy, Debenhams’ senior independent director, was named interim chairman. Cheshire became chairman in April 2016.
Logistics
OIA Global
Supply chain management company OIA Global appointed Keith Lovetro as its new CEO. Lovetro will assume overall responsibility for the financial performance of the company, its long-term strategic vision and day-to-day operating performance.
Prior to joining OIA Global, Lovetro was CEO of TRAC Intermodal, an intermodal chassis pool manager and equipment provider for shippers in North America.
Since its founding in 1988, OIA has grown into a $1.3 billion supply chain management firm, delivering clients a combination of global logistics, packaging and materials sourcing solutions. OIA is privately owned by Indianapolis-based LDI Ltd.