Rothy’s has brought on a seasoned retail veteran to serve on its board.
The DTC footwear brand on Friday announced it elected Jenny Ming to its board of directors. Ming was previously a president at Old Navy and served as CEO of Charlotte Russe from 2010 to 2019.
She holds decades of experience within the retail industry, joining Gap Inc. in 1986 where she held various leadership roles. Now, Ming serves on the boards of Levi Strauss, Kendra Scott, Affirm, Poshmark and others.
"In all my decades in retail, I've never encountered a brand quite like Rothy's," Ming said in a statement. "As Rothy's stylish, sustainable products spur organic word of mouth growth, it can scale with a vertically-integrated model unlike anything else in the industry. I'm thrilled to help Rothy's expand its loyal community as the business enters its next chapter."
The board appointment comes after Brazilian footwear company Alpargatas acquired a 49.9% stake in the DTC brand. Through the deal, in which Alpargatas invested $200 million in primary capital followed by an acquisition of about $275 million Rothy’s shares from its current stockholders, the DTC brand’s co-founders maintained “a significant equity stake” in their company and continued to oversee operations. The deal also resulted in a post-investment valuation for Rothy’s of $1 billion, the companies said at the time.
Since launching in 2016, Rothy’s has expanded its assortment to attract a broader audience. In May 2021, the brand began offering men’s products with the release of loafers and sneakers — a launch that was eight years in the making, the company said at the time. The move followed other DTC brands in expanding its offerings in order to broaden its customer base, including MeUndies, which moved into swimwear, and ThirdLove, which launched loungewear.
Rothy’s, which has long touted the use of plastic water bottles to make its shoes, has kept sustainability in focus for the brand. Since 2016, the company has transformed over 125 million single-use bottles into its signature thread used for products, resulting in around 400,000 pounds of marine plastic being diverted from waterways. The company also expanded on its sustainability commitments by piloting a recycling program last year, planning to achieve zero-waste manufacturing this year and aiming to reach circular production and carbon neutrality by 2023.
