Dive Brief:
- Adding another new face to its leadership team, Academy Sports and Outdoors has named Robert Howell its senior vice president and chief supply chain officer, the sports and recreational retailer announced Tuesday.
- Upon starting the role next month, Howell will manage the company’s supply chain operations, distribution centers, and domestic and international logistics.
- Howell is replacing Sherry Harriman, who recently left the company to “pursue other opportunities,” according to the retailer. Howell held various roles in his more than 20 years at wholesale restaurant food distributor Sysco Corporation, where he most recently served as its chief supply chain strategy officer.
Dive Insight:
Fresh into the new year, Academy Sports and Outdoors continues to reshape its executive leadership.
In addition to Howell’s appointment, the retailer earlier this month named Chad Fox to the newly created role of chief customer officer. Fox brings prior experience at companies such as Dollar General, Walmart and Tyson Foods.
Howell will report to Sam Johnson, who was promoted to his current role of president of Academy Sports and Outdoors in October. Johnson previously was the company’s executive vice president of retail operations, and replaced Michael Mullican as president, who stepped down from the role to pursue “personal and professional opportunities.” Howell brings almost 30 years of experience in supply chain, distribution and logistics to the chief supply chain role.
“Rob is a proven leader with a record of driving strategic initiatives and optimizing operations to achieve supply chain excellence and cost savings, which will be valuable to Academy as we execute on our long-term growth initiative to leverage and scale our supply chain function to enable industry leading growth,” Johnson said in a statement.
In addition to adding new faces to its C-suite, the company is expanding its product assortment and store footprint. Last fall, the company expanded a partnership with Fanatics and signed a deal with L.L. Bean to sell that brand’s products in its stores and online. After opening 14 stores in the fiscal year 2023, the retailer said in November that it aims to open between 120 and 140 new stores by the end of 2027.
Amid those changes, Academy Sports and Outdoors has experienced three consecutive quarters of net sales declines. Last June, the company reported a 5.7% year-over-year net sales decline to $1.4 billion in Q1. That trend continued into its following two quarters when the company reported a Q2 sales dip of 6.2% and a Q3 net sales drop of 6.4%.
In its Q3 earnings report, CEO Steve Lawrence attributed the results in part to weak consumer sentiment and higher-than-usual temperatures that affected demand for its fall products.
“Beyond this holiday, we remain focused on executing our long-term strategy and investing in our growth initiatives,” Lawrence said in a statement at the time. “We believe that we have a solid operating model, a strong value position and deep customer affinity that will allow us to continue to grow and expand our footprint.”
