Jay Schmidt named President – assumes
responsibility for entire Caleres portfolio
Caleres and industry veterans tapped to lead
brand divisions
Willis Hill to lead digital business
acceleration team
Caleres (NYSE: CAL), a diverse portfolio of consumer-driven
footwear brands, today announced several transformational changes
to its leadership structure that will ensure greater alignment with
its strategic direction, accelerate its growth initiatives, unlock
the power of its portfolio of brands and drive sustainable,
long-term value for its shareholders.
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Jay Schmidt, President of Caleres (Photo:
Business Wire)
“This transformation will drive a renewed, consumer-focused
approach that will combine the knowhow of our internal resources
with the fresh ideas of new industry talent and draw on the
strengths of our entire portfolio in the most efficient and
value-creating way possible,” said Diane Sullivan, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer. “As we continue to execute on our
strategy, it is essential that we position Caleres to capture the
growth opportunities we see in this rapidly evolving market
environment. This next step will strengthen our significant
competencies in product creation, assortment development and brand
power; and to leverage the substantial investments we’ve made, and
the progress achieved in our digital capabilities and ecommerce
platform.”
This transition combines the organization’s operating divisions
under a unified structure for growth–strengthening consumer
engagement, expanding consumer insights, advancing robust brand
goals and awareness, harnessing creativity and furthering
innovation.
“At this point in Caleres’ evolution, it’s extremely important
that we aggressively manage our business and that we position our
strongest leaders to focus on our most important opportunities to
advance growth initiatives across the portfolio,” said
Sullivan.
To that end, Jay Schmidt has been named president of the
company, effective immediately. As president, Schmidt will assume
responsibility for all of the consumer and brand strategy for
Caleres’ entire portfolio, which includes Famous Footwear, Allen
Edmonds, Dr. Scholl’s, Naturalizer, Sam Edelman and Vionic, among
others. Schmidt most recently held the position of Division
President, Caleres Brand Portfolio, where he has added to his
already-strong portfolio knowledge. Prior to joining the company in
2009, Schmidt spent more than 25 years developing his extensive
merchandising, portfolio management and brand marketing experience.
He spent ten years with Nine West Group in several capacities and
held positions of increasing responsibility with Lord & Taylor,
May Merchandising Corporation and Macy’s. He holds a bachelor’s
degree in commerce and marketing from the University of
Virginia.
“Jay is a strategic and innovative leader, merchant at his core,
cultural steward, and the ideal person to step into the president’s
role,” said Sullivan. “He is one of a few people who can combine
his extensive expertise with his strong vision around product
creation and brand development, all while keeping the customer at
the very center of his focus.”
Additionally, Caleres announced several other changes to the
portfolio’s leadership structure – tapping both internal and
external talent to support and implement its strategy.
Lydia Park Luis joins Caleres as president, Brand Portfolio-New
York Group, and will have responsibility for the company’s
international business. Luis was most recently Chief Executive
Officer of Jack Rogers where she oversaw rebranding and
reorganization of the 60-year-old footwear brand. Prior to Jack
Rogers, she was Chief Commercial Officer of Rag & Bone and held
leadership positions at Tory Burch, where she led the U.S.
wholesale business and international operations and licensing. The
strength of her brand and international experience will be a
valuable addition to the organization as it works to build and grow
demand brands within its portfolio, in the U.S. and abroad.
Keith Duplain has been promoted to president, Brand
Portfolio-St. Louis Group. Duplain has been with Caleres for 15
years and has more than two decades of experience within the
industry. Duplain’s creative spirit and change-oriented mindset
positions him well for this new role and greater level of
responsibility. For example, Duplain played an instrumental role in
reconceptualizing and growing Caleres’ Dr. Scholl’s brand and, more
recently, has been leading the organization’s sustainability
efforts.
As previously disclosed, effective November 20, 2020, Michael
Edwards was named president, Famous Footwear leading Caleres’
largest brand.
“Luis, Duplain and Edwards, in combination with the outstanding
leadership of Sam Edelman and Chris Gallagher, will create an even
more powerful team as we continue to drive our consumer and brand
strategy moving forward,” said Sullivan.
Furthermore, the company has formed a new, digital acceleration
team in order to optimize resources, leverage its capabilities and
take full advantage of the significant growth in its ecommerce
business, which has become an increasingly important part of
Caleres’ business and a key focus area for the company.
Willis Hill, Caleres’ senior vice president and chief
information officer, has been entrusted to assemble the core
digital team, formulate a strategy, execute the plan and drive
further ecommerce growth across the entire portfolio. This team,
led by Hill, will drive the organization’s digital efforts to meet
the evolving needs of the consumer. Together, they will lead the
company’s collective digital strategy to leverage its previous
investments, build competitive differentiation, align our business
with consumer preferences, and accelerate digital growth across the
organization. Hill has been with Caleres for 12 years – holding
positions of increasing responsibility within the organization –
contributing meaningfully to the development of the company’s
digital and technology platform.
“We have a tremendously talented and highly creative team at
Caleres, and I’m excited about driving still greater value for our
consumers and shareholders going forward,” said Sullivan. “Caleres
has a diversified and powerful portfolio upon which to build, and I
am confident in the team’s ability to realize the full potential of
the portfolio, develop products that resonate and offer footwear
that satisfies and delights the consumer – when, where and how they
want to shop.”
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201202005261/en/
Investor Contact: Logan Bonacorsi lbonacorsi@caleres.com
Media Contact: Kelly Malone kmalone@caleres.com
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