Toronto — Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) has appointed Gerald (Jerry) Storch as chief executive officer, effective January 6, 2015. Storch will be responsible for Hudson’s Bay, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF 5TH, Home Outfitters and HBC Digital. Richard Baker will continue as governor and executive chairman and together he and Storch will compose the Office of the Chairman.
Donald Watros has been appointed president of HBC’s newly formed International unit. In this role he will focus on identifying, launching and operating international expansion opportunities. Watros will continue to report to Baker.
“I have had the opportunity to work closely with Jerry over the past year as he advised on the development of our OFF 5TH strategy,” says Baker. “I was impressed with his strategic vision, leadership, collaborative approach and operational expertise, and look forward to working with him.”
Gerald Storch has had a distinguished 30-year career in retail leadership and management consulting. As chairman and CEO of Toys”R”Us, Storch led a resurgence of the business and grew the company into a $13 billion global retailer. He expanded the company’s e-commerce business to over $1 billion, drove growth in China and throughout the world, and oversaw acquisitions including FAO Schwarz, eToys and KB Toys.
Prior to his tenure at Toys“R“Us, Storch was vice chairman of Target. Among his accomplishments there, he founded and grew Target.com, founded and ran Target’s grocery business and founded and oversaw the Target Financial Services credit card business.
Hudson’s Bay Company, founded in 1670, is North America’s longest continually operated company. Today, HBC offers customers a range of retailing categories and shopping experiences primarily in the United States and Canada. Banners include Hudson’s Bay, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH. Hudson’s Bay is Canada’s most prominent department store with 90 full-line locations, two outlet stores and thebay.com. Lord & Taylor operates 50 full-line locations primarily in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S., four Lord & Taylor outlet locations and lordandtaylor.com. Saks Fifth Avenue, one of the world’s pre-eminent luxury specialty retailers, comprises 39 U.S. stores, five international licensed stores and saks.com. OFF 5TH offers value-oriented merchandise through 80 U.S. stores and saksoff5th.com. Home Outfitters is Canada’s largest kitchen, bed and bath specialty superstore with 69 locations.
SOURCE: Hudson’s Bay Company