Nordstrom is reshuffling its C-suite as two longtime executives announce their retirements on Monday.
The Seattle-based department store said Scott Meden, chief marketing officer, and Geevy Thomas, president of Nordstrom Rack, are stepping down.
Throughout his 37-year career at Nordstrom, Meden has served as GMM of shoes, president of Nordstrom Rack and, most recently, as chief marketing officer. Thomas, a 39-year veteran of the company, led the the growth of Nordstrom Rack’s sales from approximately $1.4 billion to $4.8 billion.
Pete Nordstrom, president and chief brand officer of Nordstrom, Inc., thanked the executives for their contributions in a statement. “Scott has been a selfless leader who always put our customers and our people at the center of everything we do. Geevy has been a dynamic force and helped create the close-knit culture for which Nordstrom is known. Few leaders have made such a meaningful impact on so many distinct aspects of our business. We’re a better company because of their leadership and are grateful for their many years of outstanding service,” he said.
In two related moves, Nordstrom also said that Ken Worzel and Jamie Nordstrom will transition to the newly created roles of chief customer officer and chief stores officer, respectively.
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Worzel, who has served as COO since 2019, will now be responsible for the company’s customer strategy across all touchpoints and will oversee the company’s digital platforms, including e-commerce, digital operations, marketing, credit and the Nordy Club loyalty program. Worzel will continue to report to Erik Nordstrom, CEO of Nordstrom, Inc.
As for Jamie Nordstrom, he will add the duties of overseeing operations strategy and execution for Nordstrom Rack as an expansion of his current responsibilities as president of Nordstrom stores, a role he has held since 2014. In his new role, Nordstrom said he will focus on aligning the company’s store experience and operational execution with its merchandising and supply chain functions. He will be supported by an expanded team of senior leaders with significant off-price retail experience and will report to Pete Nordstrom.
According to the company, these moves were made to “centralize” the customer strategy under one leader and consolidate responsibility for store operations across Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack.
“This new leadership structure is reflective of a natural evolution that comes directly from our focus to serve customers better across all channels and banners.” added Erik Nordstrom in a statement.
This news comes as the retailer reported improvements in its Nordstrom Rack business in March. While Rack sales declined 5% in the fourth quarter compared to 2019, the business saw an improvement of 320 basis points over Q3, as the company focuses on driving inventory and improving selling prices.
“We have a lot of effort going on in our Rack business,” said Erik Nordstrom in a call with investors last month. “And while we saw some improvements last quarter, we have a ways to go. And we’re hard at work on that, and we like our plans and believe there’s opportunity for continued improvement there.”
