Hudson’s Bay Co. hired a new executive to lead its European business.
Wolfgang Link will take over as CEO of HBC Europe on May 1. He replaces Olivier Van den Bossche, who will leave the company to pursue other opportunities, according to a company announcement. Hudson’s Bay is No. 75 in the Internet Retailer 2016 Top 500 Guide. The retailer owns Saks 5th Avenue, Gilt Groupe, and Lord and Taylor among other retail banners.
Link has spent the past 10 years at Toys R Us Inc. (No. 35), most recently as president of the retail chain’s Europe division. “His experience in both digital and traditional channels and profound knowledge of the European market were key in selecting him for this role, and will help foster the expansion and success of HBC Europe, including our significant investment in Germany,” Hudson’s Bay CEO Jerry Storch said.
Hudson’s Bay made a major splash in Germany two years ago when it acquired German department store giant Galeria Kaufhof for $3.2 billion. On its Q4 2016 earnings call earlier this week, Hudson’s Bay reported online sales grew by 69.6% year over year in 2016.
Here’s a look at others making moves in e-commerce:
- Footwear retailer Aerosoles hired Denise Incandela as its new president and CEO. She replaces Shawn Neville, who will remain with the retailer as executive chairman of the board. Incandela was most recently president of global digital at Ralph Lauren (No. 53). She also spent 14 years at Saks Fifth Avenue.
- Harry & David, a division of 1-800-Flowers Inc. (No. 57), has hired Oscar Castro as vice president of e-commerce and marketing. 1-800-Flowers acquired the Harry & David brand in 2014. Castro previously held vice president-level e-commerce roles at Big Lots and Sears Holdings Corp. (No. 14).
- Amazon.com Inc. (No. 1) plans to hire more than 30,000 part-time employees this year, including 5,000 part-time, work-from-home customer service associates. That figure will nearly double Amazon’s current total of 40,000 part-time employees across the U.S.