Lands' End shuffles exec ranks, hires new CMO

Dive Brief:

Apparel retailer Lands’ End Tuesday said it has promoted Becky Gebhardt to EVP and chief marketing officer, who will lead all aspects of creative and marketing. Previously, Gebhardt has been at Lands’ End in various roles since 1991, most recently as SVP and chief creative officer since May 2014.
Mike Zhang recently joined the retailer as vice president of e-commerce, digital marketing and innovation, and he will work closely with Mike Holahan, who has been promoted to SVP of multi-channel marketing and has been at Lands’ End since 2008.
The retailer is also expanding the role of Angie Rieger, SVP of inventory management and planning, to help drive its direct business. She will report directly to CFO/COO Jim Gooch.

Dive Insight:

Gebhardt replaces chief marketing officer and SVP Steven Rado, who resigned from that position last month, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Rado had arrived at the retailer two years ago, shortly after the apparel retailer’s spinoff from Sears and months before the arrival of Federica Marchionni as CEO from Dolce & Gabbana.

Since her arrival, Marchionni has brought on a team, including executives with experience at Saks, J. Crew, and Bonobos, to help with design and the supply chain. Marchionni called 2015 a "transition year" in its most recent earnings report, and said 2016 will focus on mixing up product assortment and branding initiatives and improving e-commerce operations. It’s possible that Rado, a retail veteran from outside the fashion world, was out of step with her team.

Lands' End has a fairly complex needle to thread these days—stepping up its fashion game and reproducing the appealing the vibe that once resonated with customers, while also maintaining loyalty from its base of fans.

As rivals Gap, and especially J. Crew flounder, Lands’ End has an opportunity to capture some new loyalties, but competition is fierce in apparel retail, which has been complicated by Amazon’s assertive effort in the space.

Investment bank Cowen & Co. analyst John Blackledge last month reiterated his prediction that Amazon will overtake Macy’s as the number one U.S. seller of apparel, as the e-retail giant’s share of the U.S. apparel and accessories market has already grown from 5% to 14% over the last year.

"We have seen a continued shift away from more traditional retailers," Blackledge wrote, according to Bloomberg. "In the first quarter of 2016, Amazon Apparel purchasers were up ~19% year-over-year, while Apparel purchasers fell ~1% year-over-year and ~5% year-over-year at Wal-Mart and Target, respectively.”