GNC’s top merchant, a former Target vet, takes key role at Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble has appointed a new chief merchandising officer.
The struggling bookseller named Timothy Mantel to the position, effective immediately. Mantel, who will be responsible for driving sales and profitability in all areas of merchandising within the company, succeeds Mary Amicucci, who left Barnes & Noble in September 2017 after 20 months on the job.
Most recently, Mantel served as chief merchandising officer for GNC Corp., where he led a $2.6 billion product portfolio and helped relaunch the company’s business model. Mantel, who joined GNC in February 2016, also worked to streamline and reinvigorate GNC’s owned brand portfolio positioning.
Prior to GNC, Mantel spent 21 years at Target Corp, from 1994 to 2015, most recently as senior VP, food, household essentials and food service. He had previously served as president of Target Sourcing services. He also held various positions from business analyst to buyer and merchandise planning director early in his career.
Barnes & Noble has been struggling to reverse its sagging fortunes. Sales during the past holiday season fell 6.4% over the previous year amid declining store traffic. In November, the retailer said it would focus more on books and less on gifts and toys and explore reducing tis store size.
“We are thrilled that Tim will be taking on the important role of chief merchandising officer for Barnes & Noble,” said Demos Parneros, CEO of Barnes & Noble. “His deep knowledge of retail and proven track record are exactly what we need to invigorate our merchandising strategy and grow our business. He will be a great addition to our management team.”
Barnes & Noble operates 632 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states.
The struggling bookseller named Timothy Mantel to the position, effective immediately. Mantel, who will be responsible for driving sales and profitability in all areas of merchandising within the company, succeeds Mary Amicucci, who left Barnes & Noble in September 2017 after 20 months on the job.
Most recently, Mantel served as chief merchandising officer for GNC Corp., where he led a $2.6 billion product portfolio and helped relaunch the company’s business model. Mantel, who joined GNC in February 2016, also worked to streamline and reinvigorate GNC’s owned brand portfolio positioning.
Prior to GNC, Mantel spent 21 years at Target Corp, from 1994 to 2015, most recently as senior VP, food, household essentials and food service. He had previously served as president of Target Sourcing services. He also held various positions from business analyst to buyer and merchandise planning director early in his career.
Barnes & Noble has been struggling to reverse its sagging fortunes. Sales during the past holiday season fell 6.4% over the previous year amid declining store traffic. In November, the retailer said it would focus more on books and less on gifts and toys and explore reducing tis store size.
“We are thrilled that Tim will be taking on the important role of chief merchandising officer for Barnes & Noble,” said Demos Parneros, CEO of Barnes & Noble. “His deep knowledge of retail and proven track record are exactly what we need to invigorate our merchandising strategy and grow our business. He will be a great addition to our management team.”
Barnes & Noble operates 632 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states.