By Kelly Nolan
COLUMBUS, 0HI0 -- Limited Brands shook things up last month by announcing a slew
of executive appointments, including a managerial restructuring of its most
profitable division, Victoria's Secret. Mindy Meads, the former head of Sears'
Lands' End, was also appointed to a new position within this Victoria's Secret
structure.
At the top, the company tapped Ken Stevens, the former president and ceo of the
company's Express brand, as evp and cfo of Limited Brands. Stevens has been
credited with the recent financial turnaround of the Express business, which up
until last holiday season had been struggling to regain its strong sales numbers
and the appeal it once had with its twenty-something consumers.
Previous to his work at Express, Stevens was president of the company's Bath &
Body Works division. He has also held senior management positions with PepsiCo,
Bank One Retail Group and various integrated communications and consulting
companies, including McKin sey & Co.
Victoria's Secret is moving to an integrated business structure with one model
for all of its divisions, which include Victoria's Secret Stores, Victoria's
Secret Beauty, Victoria's Secret Direct, Pink, Intimissimi, Sexy Sport and all
future concepts.
Sharen Turney will lead the new Victoria's Secret group as ceo and president.
Since 2000, Turney has headed up Victoria's Secret Direct, the catalogue and
e-commerce arm of Victoria's Secret.
Jerry Stritzke will join Turney as coo of the VS group. He most recently was ceo
of Mast Industries, the sourcing and production arm of Limited Brands.
Rick Paul is being promoted to president for Mast, replacing Stritzke. Paul
previously led Mast's Far East operations.
Meads replaces Turney as the ceo of Victoria's Secret Direct. Rick Jackson will
join her as coo of the business. Meads has more than 30 years of experience as a
merchant, including the last several years leading and re-energizing the Lands'
End product line before she left Sears Holdings last August.
Jackson, who joined Limited Brands in 1998, has been serving as evp of logistic
operations in Limited Logistics Services.
Christine Beauchamp is being promoted from president and gmm to ceo and
president of Victoria's Secret Beauty. Leslie Wexner, ceo of Limited Brands, has
revealed in past analyst meetings that Victoria's Secret's beauty business will
be a key growth area in the brand's future.
Grace Nichols will continue as ceo of Victoria's Secret Stores through early
spring 2007. After that, she will work with Limited Brands' leadership to
develop a new role and transition to it at that time. Nichols has been with
Limited Brands for 20 years, 14 of which were spent as ceo of Victoria's Secret
Stores.
Analysts viewed the time of the restructuring of Limited Brands' management as
somewhat unexpected, but at the same time, also unsurprising.
"They are just reformulating their business to put more focus on Victoria's
Secret, which is far and away their most profitable brand," said Jane Hali,
vp and director of retail and merchandising at Coleman Research Group.
"This structure will allow them to focus on finer points and also cultivate the
up-and-coming parts of its business, like the beauty segment. Its Pink brand and
catalog business are already on fire. This [restructuring] will only make them
stronger."
