TORONTO – Sears Canada Inc. has hired a veteran of the Canadian retail industry to be its president and chief merchant – a new position created to restore shoppers’ confidence in the struggling department store operator.
Carrie Kirkman has most recently been interim president of shoe retailer Nine West Canada and was president of Jones Apparel Group from October 2010 until last April.
Kirkman will work with Brandon G. Stranzl, who has been executive chairman of Sears Canada since the departure of Ronald Boire, who was chief executive and president of the troubled Canadian department store company for less than a year.
MORE: Shoppers showing new love for department stores, Sears Canada says
Boire was the third president-CEO to leave the company suddenly in recent years, following Douglas Campbell in September 2014 and Calvin McDonald in September 2013.
The company said Tuesday that it has a adopted a different management structure that takes advantage of Stranzl’s expertise in finances and corporate turnarounds and Kirkman’s experience in merchandizing.
“The decision to bring Carrie to Sears Canada was the result of careful deliberation by both myself and the board of directors,” Stranzl said in a statement.
Comments