Industry Eye : Catalogers' Updates, People on the Move and More

April 2009 By Joe Keenan

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Cabela’s: The outdoor sporting goods catalog/multichannel retailer was hurt in the fourth quarter by soft sales in its direct division, leading to a 12 percent drop in profits. While retail store sales rose 6.9 percent in the quarter, direct sales fell 8.2 percent. The company reported a 13 percent drop in annual profits for 2008.

PEOPLE ON the Move
Vermont Teddy Bear: The cataloger of teddy bears and other direct-to-consumer gifts has named John Gilbert as its new president/CEO. Gilbert also is responsible for managing Vermont Teddy Bear’s sister companies, PajamaGram and Calyx Flowers. He comes to Vermont Teddy Bear from The TJX Cos., where he most recently served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer. He also held senior-level marketing positions at Dunkin Donuts, YUM!, Carlson Restaurants Worldwide and PepsiCo.

Brookstone: The gadgets catalog/multichannel retailer has shuffled its senior management. Louis Mancini stepped down as president/CEO and is relinquishing his seat on the company’s board of directors. Upon his departure, Philip Roizin has taken over as interim president/CEO and a director of the company. Roizin previously served as Brookstone’s executive vice president, finance and administration, for more than 12 years. As of press time, a permanent CEO had not been named.

CDW: The B-to-B retailer of technology products and services for business, government and education has named Collin Kebo as its new vice president, financial planning and analysis. Kebo joins CDW from PepsiCo, where he held a variety of senior finance positions, most recently as vice president of sales finance for PepsiCo’s warehouse delivered products. At CDW, he’s responsible for providing financial leadership recommendations and business decision support for leaders across CDW.

Companies Mentioned:

	Brylane		Coldwater Creek		J.C. Penney
	Lane Bryant

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“Blanchard is demanding. He won’t allow you to flip through this book, nod your head, and leave. If you’re in, you’re going to have to invest to get your rewards.”
--Chris Brogan, president of Human Business Works

“Social media isn’t inexpensive; it’s different expensive. The human effort required to do

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