Dive Brief:
- Michaels said Tuesday that a three-person team will lead an interim office of the chief executive officer following the previously announced departure of CEO Ashley Buchanan, who left Tuesday to become the CEO of Kohl’s. They will manage the company’s daily operations as Michaels searches for a permanent replacement.
- The company’s president, Heather Bennett, along with Chief Merchandising Officer Stacey Shively and Chief Financial Officer Perry Pericleous, make up the interim office. The board noted it is making “great progress” on its CEO search.
- Shively and Pericleous both have over two decades of retail industry experience but are relatively new to the company, having joined in September and December, respectively. Bennett joined Michaels in 2021.
Dive Insight:
Michaels has an interim leadership team in place to guide the crafts retailer as it searches for its next CEO, which board chairman Andrew Jhawar said it expects to announce “in the near future.”
"Heather, Stacey, and Perry are experienced, accomplished executive leaders who are well-equipped to ensure the ongoing execution of the company's strategic plan," Jhawar said in a statement. They take over for Buchanan, who led Michaels from early 2020 through several challenges and initiatives.
As people turned to crafting to stay engaged and entertained during the monthslong pandemic-era stay-at-home and quarantine orders, Michaels successfully recovered from a financial downturn during the early weeks of the global health crisis, during which its brick-and-mortar stores were briefly closed. Michaels reported a Q2 2020 net sales increase of 11% and a 353% spike in e-commerce. The company attributed the change in momentum to its omnichannel offering, which included curbside pickup, same-day delivery and in-app purchases.
Buchanan was also at the helm when the company went private in 2021 with a $5 billion offer from Apollo Global Management. The transaction valued Michaels at $3.3 billion at the time.
Since then, Michaels has worked to improve the customer experience, including through the debut of MakerPlace by Michaels, an online marketplace, in late 2023. The Etsy-like platform was designed to connect people who make and sell handmade goods with shoppers. The changes continued through last year, as the retailer revamped its in-store class offerings, launched in-store kids’ birthday party planning and announced price cuts for more than 5,000 items.
But the craft space has suffered since the heightened demand that the pandemic brought. In March 2024, Michaels’ rival Joann filed for bankruptcy. It reorganized and exited bankruptcy as a private company, but filed again for Chapter 11 on Wednesday, less than a year later. A handful of store closings preceded the company’s latest bankruptcy filing.
