Dive Brief:

• Kathryn J. Bufano, 61, has been named president and CEO of Milwaukee and York, PA-based Bon-Ton Stores Inc. as of Aug. 25. 

• Bufano has been president and chief merchandising officer of department store Belk Inc. since 2010 and, before that, Belk’s president of merchandising and marketing from 2008 to 2010. She also has extensive retail experience, especially in women’s apparel and merchandising at Sears, The Dress Barn, Macy’s East, and Lord & Taylor.

• Bon-Ton Stores Inc. includes 272 department stores in the Northeast and Midwest as Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s, and Younkers.

Dive Insight:

Bon-Ton Stores' president and CEO Brendan L. Hoffman surprised his employer when he declined to renew his three-year contract, citing a tough commute between the retailer’s Milwaukee headquarters and his home in New York. Hoffman is known as a retail whiz and Bon-Ton is in the midst of a turnaround that he has already helped along. Bufano is a retail whiz in her own right, however.