Online and catalog retailer Lillian Vernon Corp. has hired Susan Hardie, former director of merchandising of The Children’s Group in Madison, VA, as divisional merchandise manager, kids.

Hardie will oversees product assortment, development and day-to-day process for Lillian Vernon’s children’s catalog, Lilly’s Kids. Lillian Vernon ranks No. 66 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide. She will manage the buyers for the division and report to Michelle Gershkovich, executive vice president of merchandising. The Children’s Group is a division of 1-800-Flowers.com Inc., No. 35 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.

At The Children’s Group, Hardie merchandised the Magic Cabin and Hearthsong brands. Prior to The Children’s Group, Hardie worked as a senior buyer for A.C. Moore Stores in Blackwood, NJ, and for S & S Worldwide in Colchester, CT, a business-to-business catalog geared toward children’s products, sporting goods and the parks and recreation industry.

Hardie’s colleague, Kristen Montella, vice president of online for Lillian Vernon, will speak at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition, June 4-7 in San Jose, in a session entitled Avoiding Disaster: Managing a Technology Implementation.