Sears Holdings Corp. named Ron Boire EVP, chief merchandising officer and president of the Sears and Kmart business units on Jan. 3.
Boire will work with Sears Holdings’ leadership to better serve Shop Your Way Rewards loyalty program members “by integrating their experiences across our stores, online sites, services and mobile capabilities,” the company said in a statement. He will also lead merchandising for both brands.
Boire was most recently president and CEO of Brookstone. He was previously president, U.S. Toys, North America, for Toys “R” Us, overseeing merchandising, marketing and operations for 600 stores in the U.S. and 70 in Canada from 2006 to 2009. Prior to that, he was EVP and global merchandising manager for Best Buy.
Shop Your Way Rewards provides consumers with 10 points for each $1 spent in-store or online at Sears, Kmart and Lands’ End, among other brands.
“We are in the midst of a transformation of our business, from top to bottom, as we seek to become the leading integrated retailer in the country,” said Lou D’Ambrosio, Sears Holdings’ CEO and president, in a statement. “We have made some difficult decisions recently and will make the hard choices necessary to turn our business around going forward.”
Sears Holdings did not go into the black during the fourth quarter of 2011 as Kmart’s quarter-to-date sales were down 4.4% and Sears’ stores sales were down 6%. As a result, the company plans to close 100 to 120 Kmart and Sears stores, Sears said in a statement.
David Friedman, Sears Holdings Corp.’s SVP and president of marketing, resigned his post, the company said in November. Imran Jooma, SVP and president of e-commerce at Sears Holdings, will succeed Friedman in managing the retailer’s online, marketing, financial services and pricing business units.
In August, Sears named Monica Woo VP and CMO. Woo replaced Don Hamblen, who left the company in January 2010.
Sears confirmed the Boire hire but would not provide additional comment.
