San Francisco — Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has appointed Day Kornbluth as president of West Elm. Kornbluth is an established leader in retail and in the home business, building brands through product and digital innovation. She most recently served as the global brand president of Ralph Lauren Home. In her new role as president of West Elm, Kornbluth will report to Laura Alber and join the brand on April 3, 2023. “Day’s proven track-record and previous success growing home furnishing brands make her the ideal candidate to run the West Elm brand,” …
retailers
Chesapeake, Va. — Mike Witynski, who has been in leadership positions at Dollar Tree since 2010 and served as CEO since 2020, is stepping down from the Dollar Tree board and leaving the company. Dollar Tree, Inc. has named a new executive chairman, Rick Dreiling, who will expand his role to assume the position of chief executive officer, effective January 29. “The opportunity to work with the talented and dedicated team at Dollar Tree has been the most rewarding of my career,” says Witynski. “During this especially dynamic period, we …
Annapolis, Md. — Annapolis Town Center, a premier shopping lifestyle destination, has added Christi Swanson as its new general manager. Swanson will manage all aspects of Annapolis Town Center, including marketing, operations, business development, events and property upgrades. Swanson is a retail industry expert with almost 20 years of experience holding various roles in guest experience, marketing and property management. Her expertise is helping emerging retailers find their footing and flourish within their target customer base. “With Christi’s leadership, Annapolis Town Center will continue to evolve,” says Maranda Auzenne, CRRP, …
Los Angeles — Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has appointed Dany Nasr as CEO URW Airports, leading the continued growth of its portfolio of airport and transit retail programs. “Dany’s extensive airport experience in North America and across the globe will strongly benefit our clients, partners and the communities we serve,” says Dominic Lowe, chief operating officer of URW U.S. “He’s a proven leader who will successfully deliver our pipeline of dynamic projects and create new business partnerships in the U.S. and Europe for our airports and transit hub platform.” Nasr joins URW …
Woodcliff Lake, N.J. — Party City Holdco Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The restructuring process is expected to substantially reduce the company’s debt and optimize its capital structure and liquidity. The company expects to complete the restructuring process in the second quarter of this year. Party City’s more than 800 stores will remain open during the bankruptcy process. The company says it will continue to advance its key initiatives underway, such as converting stores to next-generation prototypes, evolving Halloween City pop-up stores, building out its online shopping experience, …
New York City — Authentic Brands Group has appointed Jessica Holscott as chief financial officer. Holscott succeeds Kevin Clarke, founding partner and longtime company leader, as he assumes a new position as executive vice chairman. Holscott joins Authentic from Warner Media, where she served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Studios and Networks. Holscott brings a wealth of experience and knowledge in financial management, strategic planning, operations and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Warner Media, Holscott held several leadership roles, including executive vice president and CFO …
Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming Expands to Canada with First Location Set to Open Near Toronto
Miami — Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming, a leading pet service franchise brand in the U.S., will open its first store in Canada in 2023. The pet store will be the company’s first franchise-owned international location in the greater Toronto area, with plans to open 200 locations in the country. With its mission to be the world’s largest network of neighborhood pet stores, Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming has 200 locations open or under development across 18 states in the U.S. offering luxury spa services, gourmet treats and premium pet …
Scottsdale, Ariz. — PXG has officially opened its first New York-based retail store. A premium facility in New Rochelle, N.Y., PXG Westchester marks an outstanding stepping stone for the brand to broaden its footprint in the Northeast. “New Rochelle is an exceptional location for PXG’s newest retail store,” says Bob Parsons, PXG’s founder and CEO. “The area is stirring with economic growth, and interest in golf is the highest we’ve seen across the nation. With our new store, our New York-based PXG Troops will have easy access to the absolute …
Katy, Texas — Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., a leading full-line sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer, plans to open a total of 80 to 100 new stores by the end of 2026. Kickstarting those expansion plans will be its first location in Lafayette, Ind., opening this spring. The fourth location in Indiana, the more than 60,000-square-foot store will open in Lafayette Pavilions. “We’re excited to be a new destination for the Lafayette community,” says Sam Johnson, Academy’s executive vice president of retail operations. “At Academy Sports + Outdoors we …
— By Katie Lee — David’s Bridal exists for magical moments — and puts customers front and center its new store format. In November 2022, David’s Bridal announced plans to debut a new store format systemwide, following a hugely successful soft launch of this concept earlier in the year in select locations, including Torrance, California; West Chester Township, Ohio; Lexington, Kentucky; and Cool Springs, Tennessee. The Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based bridal retailer reopened 25 stores in 2022 and anticipates an estimated 30 new format stores will open in 2023 …