Macy's replaces chief merchant after 2 years

Dive Brief:

Macy's on Monday said that Nata Dvir, senior vice president and general business manager for Beauty and Center Core merchandise, has been named chief merchandising officer of the Macy's brand, effective Feb. 1.
She replaces 35-year Macy's veteran Patti Ongman, who was promoted to the post about two years ago.
Dvir, who began at Macy's as an executive trainee, will lead merchandising, with oversight of all categories and private brands, and report to CEO Jeff Gennette, according to a company press release. She has been with the department store for 15 years, according to her LinkedIn page.

Dive Insight:

This doesn't sound like much of a shakeup, considering that Macy's is replacing one longtime executive with another, who has been trained in retail by Macy's itself.

But Ongman's exit further dismantles the team that developed Macy's "Polaris" strategy, presented a year ago before the pandemic roiled those plans. In October, the retailer replaced its CFO with a business consultant. In presenting the Polaris merchandising strategy, Ongman said the focus would be on overhauling private label brands, especially in women's apparel.

The goal then was to extract 25% of sales from four major women's private labels, INC International Concepts, Alfani, Style & Co and Charter Club women's apparel — which were each "well on their way" to becoming a $1 billion brand, Ongman said at the time.

Nata Dvir will step into the chief merchandising role Feb. 1.

Retrieved from Macy's on January 05, 2021

In 2017, Dvir was given the newly created role of general business manager for beauty. Since then "she has transformed the cosmetics and fragrance business, creating a more open and experiential environment in store, enhancing entertainment and customer experiences, taking a fresh approach to digital engagement and expanding new brands," per Macy's release.

Around the time of the Polaris unveiling, she also took on responsibility for center core merchandise (items that tend to be found in the center of the store, including jewelry, handbags, shoes, intimate apparel and accessories). She has added and updated products, expanded the online assortment and developed the store-based service model, per the release.

"Nata is a strong merchant with deep connections to our partners, first-rate instincts and an eye for newness," Gennette said in a statement.