The head of men’s and kid’s clothing at Stitch Fix, Chris Phillips, is leaving the apparel retailer to take on the role of CEO at online men’s apparel retailer Mizzen+Main. Kevin Lavelle, Mizzen+Main’s founder and CEO, is leaving the retailer to join entrepreneurial networking group The Seminar Network. Stitch Fix is looking for a replacement.
Phillips has a long history in retail and ecommerce. He spent about 20 years with Gap Inc. (No. 28 in the Internet Retailer 2018 Top 1000) in various roles, such as vice president of merchandising and vice president and general manager of Gap’s Banana Republic brand. His tenure at Stitch Fix (No. 64) was nearly three years, where he helped launch the men’s division, which recently deployed plus and tall sizes for men.
Mizzen+Main was founded in 2012 and is based in Dallas. To date, the retailer has raised $4.6 million, according to Crunchbase. The menswear brand has two physical stores in Texas and sells its products with more than 800 wholesalers, including Nordstrom Inc. (No. 19).
In other ecommerce news:
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Amazon.com Inc., No. 1 in the Top 1000, has acquired robotics startup Canvas Technology, but did not disclose the terms of the deal. Canvas Technology has developed a fully autonomous cart system and operates like a self-driving car inside a warehouse. “We are inspired by Canvas Technology’s innovations, and share a common vision for a future where people work alongside robotics to further improve safety and the workplace experience,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. Amazon acquired Kiva Systems in 2012. Since then, Amazon Robotics has deployed Kiva’s robotic shelving in 25 of its fulfillment centers.
- Walmart Inc. (No. 3) lost another senior female executive as Katie Finnegan, who co-led the retailer’s technology incubation arm, announced her departure. Finnegan also served on the board of Jetblack, the text-based concierge shopping service for wealthy New Yorkers that Walmart debuted last year. During her tenure, Finnegan helped launch Store No. 8, which looked for ways to bring new technology into shopping. She later ran Spatial&, previously called Spatialand, a virtual-reality startup that Walmart acquired last year.
Finnegan is the latest senior female executive to leave the company in recent months, following the departure of Sam’s Club chief operating officer Gisel Ruiz, human resources chief Jacqui Canney and health and wellness executive Marybeth Hays. Her departure closely follows that of chief technology officer Jeremy King, who also left Walmart to become the head of engineering for Pinterest. Seth Beal, who co-led Store No. 8 with Finnegan, also departed last year. - StubHub has appointed three new executives: Arnie Katz has been named chief product and technology officer; Miguel Giribet Giral is now vice president of global ecommerce; and Stephanie Burns is vice president and general counsel. Katz joins StubHub from Walmart, where he was vice president of international ecommerce, while Burns held several executive positions at Amazon.com for more than 14 years, such as vice president and associate general counsel. Giral was a private investor before he joined StubHub.
- Macy’s Inc. (No. 5) has appointed Dennis Mullahy as chief supply chain officer of the Macy’s brand, which is a new role. Mullahy will oversee a product’s journey, which includes global sourcing, inventory management and store and ecommerce distribution to transportation. Prior to this appointment, Mullahy was executive vice president, supply chain and information technology at crafts retailer Michaels Stores Inc. (No. 243). Mullahy also served as senior vice president at cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty (No. 87), where he was responsible for merchandise planning, inventory management, distribution, logistics, transportation and supply chain strategy.
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Brand piracy and counterfeit detection company Red Points has raised $38 million in funding, bringing its total funding to $64 million. The round was led by Summit Partners, with additional participation from existing investors Northzone, Mangrove, Eight Roads Ventures and Banco Sabadell. The funding will help it expand its brand protection platform and launch new capabilities. “Brands have never been more vulnerable to the issues of online counterfeiting, piracy and distribution fraud,” says Laura Urquizu, CEO of Red Points. “With this new funding, we plan to further expand our technology and global footprint with the goal of empowering brands worldwide to seamlessly protect their valuable assets online.”
- Mike Edwards, who was president and CEO of eBags for more than two years, has left the handbag retailer to become president and CEO of children’s apparel retailer Hanna Andersson.
- ManoMano, a French ecommerce site and marketplace with a focus on home improvement and gardening, has raised $125 million from Eurazeo Growth, Aglaé Ventures and Bpifrance, along with existing investors CM-CIC, Partech, Piton and General Atlantic. This new round brings its total funding to $211.5 million since its founding in 2013, according to Crunchbase.
- ShopBack, a Singapore-based rewards discovery platform, has raised $45 million in a Series B funding round led by EV Growth and Rakuten Capital. ShopBack in a statement said the new funds will be used to simplifying shopping experiences, expanding data capabilities and accelerating growth. It also said that it has seen its orders and sales grow 250% year over year in 2018.
Bloomberg contributed to this report.
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