Women’s apparel and accessories retailer Charming Charlie, No. 954 in the Internet Retailer 2018 Top 1000, has made several executive changes after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 24.
Back in April, the retailer said it had a “sustainable capital structure to support its Back-to-Basics Strategy,” which included closing an undisclosed number of under-performing stores in the U.S. and its Los Angeles headquarters. Prior to this plan, the retailer listed 375 stores on its website, now its website lists “more than 260 stores” in the U.S.
The retailer’s chief financial officer Rob Adamek has been promoted to chief operating officer, where he will provide operational support to e-commerce, retail stores, merchandising and marketing. He joined Charming Charlie in November 2016. Prior to that, he worked for menswear brand Haggar Clothing as senior vice president and chief financial officer and chief operating officer for more than four years.
“Rob has played a critical leadership role through some of the most challenging times we have experienced as a company,” says Lana Krauter, CEO of Charming Charlie. “He understands the culture of this business and what we are trying to accomplish, not just today, but years down the road.”
Charming Charlie also named Joy Garcia senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Previously, Garcia was vice president of customer and brand marketing for department store company Stage Stores, as well as the director of customer relationship management for consumer and small retail at computer technology company and brand manufacturer Dell.
Additionally, Jason Warr, the retailer’s vice president of e-commerce, has been given added responsibilities to oversee the retailer’s digital marketing efforts since he joined in April 2018. Before Charming Charlie, he spent more than 20 years in various roles at Sears Holdings Co. (No. 24), most recently as divisional vice president and general manager for apparel and online marketing.
In other e-commerce news:
- Walmart Inc. (No. 3 in the Top 1000) has shuffled around some of its U.S. senior managers, the retail giant confirmed to Internet Retailer. Kieran Shanahan, formerly vice president of operations for Walmart e-commerce since May 2014, was promoted to senior vice president of e-commerce retail for everyday living. Tom Ward was named senior vice president of digital operations after serving in several executive positions with Walmart since May 2013, most recently as vice president of digital operations, e-commerce, online grocery and last mile.
- Shoe retailer Allbirds (No. 996) raised $50 million in Series C funding from T. Rowe Price, which led the round, Tiger Global and Fidelity Investments. This puts its total raised to $77.5 million, according to Crunchbase. The eco-friendly shoe retailer says it plans to use the funding to open more U.S. bricks-and-mortar locations, as well as expand to Asia next year.
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San Francisco-based startup Deliverr is a rapid delivery company that uses machine learning and predictive intelligence to determine in which of its warehouses to store client goods. It recently raised $7.1 million in Series A funding to grow its team and find new online retail clients. Deliverr doesn’t own its own warehouses, but operates out of more than 10 of them in Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and other states. Its clients store inventory in three to five different locations based on Deliverr’s predictive algorithms.
- Salesforce has acquired interactive email services startup Rebel, but terms of the deal were not disclosed in the announcement. Rebel joins Salesforce’s Marketing Cloud operation to enhance the company’s direct marketing services—for example, within an interactive email, people can write reviews, shop and take other actions without exiting the email the message.
- The Hudson’s Bay Co. (No. 36) has appointed Wayne Drummond as chief merchant for the Hudson’s Bay and Home Outfitters divisions in Canada. Drummond has worked for Hudson’s Bay for the last 30 years and has held the title of group senior vice president, apparel for Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor since 2013.
- Business software marketplace G2 Crowd has raised $55 million to continue to expand its business, putting its total funding at $100.8 million to date, according to Crunchbase. The Chicago-based company enables consumers, businesses and retailers to search for and compare software through user-generated reviews and buy the software and other IT services through G2 Crowd. “We started as a way to help companies make better buying decisions,” says CEO and co-founder Godard Abel. “Now, the focus is on helping them reach their potential through digital transformation, more quickly than ever.”
