Claire’s Stores taps industry vet to head up marketing

Claire’s Stores has appointed an experienced marketer as its chief marketing officer.

The tween and teen accessories brand named  Kristin Patrick as CMO. Patrick, who served as global CMO of PepsiCo from 2013 to 2019, will oversee all aspects of marketing including consumer insights analytics, brand and business strategy, creative vision and omnichannel media, reporting directly to Claire's CEO Ryan Vero.

Prior to joining PepsiCo, Patrick held leadership positions at several global brands, including serving as chief marketing officer for Playboy Enterprises and executive VP of brand strategy at William Morris Endeavor. She served as CMO at Liz Claiborne/Lucky Brand from 2008 to 2010 and headed innovation and marketing across all Gap brands from 2004 to 2008. Earlier in her career, she held executive positions at NBC Universal and Revlon.

“We are thrilled to welcome Kristin to our visionary management team, bringing her boundary-breaking marketing expertise to Claire's to inspire customers to experiment with self-expression," said Ryan Vero, CEO. "She will be a key member of the Claire's leadership team in driving revenue and building our brands.”

The retailer added that Patrick’s influence is already evident through Claire’s 'Be the Most Festive' holiday campaign, which reflects a future that is “modern, trendsetting, innovative and playful.” The campaign, Claire’s first multimedia concept, is supported by a full-funnel marketing strategy that includes extensions across e-commerce, store experiences, social media, influencers and brand activations. 

“Claire's has a powerful legacy that transcends generations, and I'm excited to unleash a new Claire's, empowering our customers to explore and celebrate who they are through the best of our brand and deliver on experiences which ignite their imagination around limitless possibilities," said Patrick.

To bring its campaign to life, Claire's engaged New York-based creative agency Lloyd&Co. It also tapped mixed-media illustrator and filmmaker Quentin Jones for a series of creative videos which transport viewers into a Claire's-inspired universe powered by the imaginations of Gen Z.