Citi Trends CEO out; interim leader appointed
Citi Trends has started the search for a new leader.
The value retailer of apparel, accessories and home trends primarily for African American and multicultural families has appointed Ken Seipel as interim CEO, effective June 2, 2024. In connection with the appointment, David Makuen has stepped down as chief executive.
Makuen, who will serve as senior advisor to the CEO and the leadership team in the coming weeks, was tapped as Citi Trends chief executive in March 2020. Prior to that, he spent eight years at Five Below, including serving as executive VP, marketing, e-commerce and strategy.
Incoming interim CEO Seipel, who joined Citi Trends board in 2019, previously served as the CEO of West Marine, from 2018 to 2021. Prior to that, he served as CEO of off-price retailer Gabe’s, from 2013 to 2017, where he successfully led the business to record-level profits, resulting in a three-time investment exit transaction for the company’s majority private equity owner, Citi Trends said in a release. Seipel's retail experience also includes executive roles in merchandise and operations at major public companies, including Old Navy, Target and J.C. Penney.
The leadership change comes as Citi Trends is looking to return to profitability after a rocky year. The retailer reported a net loss of $12.0 million, or $10.5 million as adjusted, for fiscal 2023, compared to net income of $58.9 million, or $9.4 million as adjusted, the previous year. Sales decreased 5.9% to $747.9 million; comparable-store sales were down 6.8%.
In a statement, Peter Sachse, Citi Trends executive chairman, thanked Makuen for his "dedication, hard work and strong leadership" during his four years as CEO, and said that his contributions include guiding the organization through the challenging COVID-19 pandemic and leading it to a record year in terms of financial performance in fiscal year 2021.
“The board’s decision to appoint Ken and initiate a search for a new permanent CEO is intended to position Citi Trends to return the company to past levels of profitability and beyond,” said Sachse. “Ken has had success in several turnaround environments.”
Citi Trends said its board’s independent members are starting a search for a new permanent CEO and plan to retain a nationally recognized executive search firm to support the process. Citi Trends said it will consider external candidates, as well as Seipel, in the CEO search.
"As interim CEO, I intend to leverage my experiences driving profitable growth, capturing efficiencies and operating across economic cycles to position Citi Trends for enhanced value creation,” Seipel said. We will focus on driving sales, sharpening our product assortment decisions, streamlining costs, optimizing our supply chain, improving inventory returns and leveraging benefits from recent technology investments.”
Citi Trends operates 598 stores located in 33 states.