Mike Edwards was executive vice president of global merchandising at Staples and his background includes serving as CEO at Borders.

EBags Inc., an online seller of handbags, backpacks, luggage and other travel items, has appointed Mike Edwards president and CEO.

He also joined the board of directors and came in as an investor, although the details on the investment are not being disclosed.

Edwards comes to eBags from Staples Inc. (No. 4 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500 Guide), where he oversaw the office supplies retailer’s merchandising strategy and new business development, assortment planning, and vendor programs for the retail, online, and contract sales divisions, according to eBags, which ranks No. 174. He helped expand Staples’ product assortment from 33,000 to 1.5 million SKUs. Edwards also managed the Staples’ innovation which support divisions in 26 countries and the retailer’s global private label group, which generated over $5 billion in sales, eBags says.

“Mike understands demands faced by all types of retailers—from brick-and-mortars to B2Bs to retailers selling digital goods, from operations to digital marketing,” says Jon Nordmark, eBags’ co-founder and chairman. “His vision for how technology and bag-oriented products are used and experienced around the world will advance eBags as the company enters its next chapter of product innovation and expansion.”

Edwards succeeds Rob Cassidy, who was interim president and CEO from January 2013 until this month. Cassidy left eBags to pursue other opportunities, says Peter Cobb, co-founder and executive vice president of marketing. Before Cassidy’s tenure, Vince Jones was CEO from 2009-13. He left to become chief operating officer at Bluestem Brands (No. 60).

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Prior to Staples, Edwards held several positions at the now-defunct bookseller Borders Inc., including president and CEO. He was also an investor and president and CEO at Lucy Activewear, where he helped the specialty women’s workout wear retailer grow from 10 stores without e-commerce to more than 60 stores and a web business. Lucy grew from $7 million to over $50 million in sales during his three-year tenure, eBags says, before it was ultimately sold to VF Corp. (No. 104) for $110 million.

EBags also owns Handbags.com, an e-commerce site devoted to handbags and accessories.

 

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