Dive Brief:
- Pet retailer Bark named a chief direct-to-consumer officer on Thursday to oversee its DTC efforts, according to a company press release. Filling the position is Meghan Knoll, who was previously the CEO of Cat Person. Cat Person is a product of Harry’s Labs, an incubation company connected to razor brand Harry’s.
- Knoll also has significant previous experience at Bark, where she spent more than seven years in positions including general manager of Super Chewer and senior vice president of DTC.
- In her new role, effective Monday, Knoll will report directly to Bark co-founder and CEO Matt Meeker.
Dive Insight:
Bark is bringing on a former executive to head up its DTC efforts in a C-suite level role. Knoll returns to the company amid a slew of executive changes, including the April addition of a new chief revenue officer Michael Black, and a chief marketing officer Michael Parness. The company’s chief technology officer also turned over at the start of the year.
“On behalf of the entire team, I am thrilled to welcome Meghan Knoll back to Bark. During her seven-year tenure with us, Meghan made significant contributions across the organization, including leading our Super Chewer product from inception to becoming our second-largest revenue generator,” Meeker said in a statement. “Alongside Michael Black and Michael Parness … I believe we have an exceptional commercial team poised to drive profitable, long-term revenue growth.”
Meeker himself returned to the CEO role two years ago, just a year and a half after leaving it in the first place.
Since then, the pet retailer has struggled some financially, laying off 12% of its full-time staff last year as part of a cost-saving initiative. The retailer has suffered sales declines over the past year or so, including in its most recent quarter, when total revenue fell 7%. In March, however, Bark regained compliance with the New York Stock Exchange, which had threatened in the fall to delist it over a low average closing price.
Bark has expanded its wholesale partners over time, teaming up with the likes of Walmart and Tractor Supply. Now, the pet retailer is doubling down on DTC with a dedicated C-suite role to drive growth in the channel.
“I am excited to rejoin Matt and the incredible team at Bark. The team has made impressive progress within the direct-to-consumer channel in the past 18 months,” Knoll said in a statement. “I am confident that we are primed to capitalize on that work and drive exceptional new customer experiences and sustainable long-term channel growth.”
