Textiles
Unifi
Unifi Inc. announced that Kevin D. Hall and the company mutually agreed that Hall would resign as CEO and as a director of the company. Unifi said its board of directors has elected Albert P. Carey, currently the company’s non-executive chairman, as its executive chairman, effective April 1.
Unifi also appointed Thomas H. Caudle Jr. as principal executive officer. Caudle previously served as the company’s principal executive officer from April 2016 to May 2017 and will continue to serve as a director and president and chief operating officer of the company.
Carey is presently the CEO of PepsiCo North America, a position he’s expected to retire from at the end of March. Based in Greensboro, N.C., Unifi manufacturers recycled and synthetic yarns. The company’s net sales for the second quarter ended Dec. 30 increased slightly to $167.7 million. Net income fell 90 percent to $1.2 million for the period.
Schoeller
Schoeller Textil AG announced that Michael Lowery has joined its North America team as sales manager for its Eshler Textil and Schoeller Technologies brands.
Lowery will focus on brand partner relationships and product development. Eschler Textil, based in Balingen, Germany, is a subsidiary of Schoeller Textil specializing in high-tech knitted fabrics. Schoeller Technologies is a unit at Schoeller Textil based in Sevelen, Switzerland. It offers innovative Schoeller textile technologies, including 3XDRY, Ecorepel, Energear, Coldblack and NanoSphere.
Lowery will be based at Schoeller North America’s offices in Newburyport, Mass. He comes to Schoeller from with a vast history of experience in design, product development and sales. Most recently, Lowery worked in design, product development and sourcing at Athena Apparel Solutions, and was previously a sales representative for Kevek insulative films and coating for industrial, apparel, footwear and accessories applications.
NCTO
Related Stories
The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) elected Leib Oehmig, CEO of Glen Raven Inc., as its new chairman. Glen Raven is involved in textile research and development, dying, spinning, weaving and finishing, and distribution and logistics.
David Roberts, CEO of CAP Yarns Inc., was elected vice chairman. CAP Yarns is a specialty yarn manufacturer.
Oritain
Oritain, a product and supply chain traceability specialist, appointed Jeff Elder as managing director, North America.
Elder was formerly vice president at J.G. Boswell, one of North America’s largest agricultural producer and cotton growers. He is also a past president of the Cotton Warehouse Association of America and previous chairman of Supima. Elder is currently chair of the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation.
Oritain said Elder’s experience and extensive network in the cotton and agricultural industry will prove beneficial in expanding its growth throughout the U.S. and globally. Oritain helps the textiles industry solve global problems such as counterfeiting, blending and mitigating forced labor.
Lenzing
Lenzing AG’s nominated Christian Bruch to serve on its supervisory board. Bruch has been a member of the executive board of Linde AG since 2015 and is a member of its management committee. In addition, Viennese lawyer Stefan Fida has also been nominated to serve on the supervisory board.
They will replace Christoph Kollatz and Hanno Bästlein, who are resigning to pursue other business activities.
Brands
Tom Ford was ratified as the next chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) by the organization’s board of directors.
The award-winning fashion designer, film director, screenwriter and film producer will succeed current chairwoman Diane von Furstenberg in June.
Ford created his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, beginning with men’s wear. Today, the Tom Ford brand offers a complete collection of men’s wear, women’s wear, accessories, eyewear, beauty and most recently underwear and timepieces. Ford was previously the creative director of Gucci Group, where he designed for luxury houses Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent until 2004.
Ford joined the CFDA in 2000. He has won seven CFDA Fashion Awards.
Von Furstenberg became president of the CFDA in 2006. In 2015, she was named chairwoman of the organization. Previous CFDA presidents were Perry Ellis, Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Norman Norell, Stan Herman, Mary McFadden, Carolyne Roehm, Herbert Kasper and Sydney Wragge.
Under Armour Inc. appointed Kasey Jarvis as its new chief design officer, reporting directly to chief product officer Kevin Eskridge. Jarvis is expected to start his new position in early April.
Leading the design team across all product platforms, regions and categories, Jarvis will be responsible for the translation and commercialization of athlete insights and influential trends into next generation product concepts.
Jarvis joins Under Armour from Black Diamond Equipment, where he served as vice president of product and design. Prior to that, he served at Nike and General Motors in key design roles.
Logistics
Willson International
Willson International appointed Jon Weingarten as vice president and general manager of logistics.
Weingarten will play a key role in Willson’s strategic focus on enhancing its logistics offerings, and extending these services to its growing customs client base.
Willson International, based in Ontario, Canada, is a fourth generation, private customs brokerage. Its logistics division is a complete, independent, third-party logistics provider, delivering international freight forwarding services to companies—including brands and retailers—shipping anywhere in the world through its network in more than 80 countries.
Technology
Epson
Epson America Inc. named Joseph Contreras as commercial marketing executive–office solutions, leading this new division of the company’s commercial inkjet printer business.
In this role, Contreras will be responsible for overseeing portfolio management, strategic partnerships, software integration and support, and sales and marketing programs for WorkForce Enterprise inkjet printing solutions.
Prior to joining Epson, Contreras was vice president of product and solutions marketing for Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc., responsible for U.S. and Latin America marketing strategies, channel programs, strategic partnerships and business development.
Footwear
Footwear
Havaianas
Alpargatas announced it is hiring Scott Ziegler as retail director for the Brazilian Havaianas flip flop brand.
Ziegler will be responsible for the 170 points of sale across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) region, including company-owned mono-brand stores, franchisees and concessions.
Ziegler was most recently with VF Corp.’s Timberland brand and brings more than 20 years of retail experience in the EMEA market to the Havaianas team.
Retail
Hibbett Sports
Hibbett Sports Inc. announced the planned retirement of Jeff Rosenthal as president and CEO. The company’s board of directors will begin a search to identify his successor.
Rosenthal will remain at the company in his CEO capacity until a successor is named, and will assist with the search and the execution of the transition. Upon the completion of the leadership transition, Rosenthal will also continue to serve as a member of the board.
Hibbett, headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., has more than 1,100 stores under the Hibbett Sports and City Gear banners, primarily located in small and mid-sized communities.