Five Below names new retail, legal chiefs
Five Below has expanded its executive leadership team on the heels of a strong first quarter.
The tween and teen discount retailer has named Rodney Lastinger as chief retail officer and Christos Yatrakis as chief legal officer. Lastinger will be responsible for leading the operational performance of Five Below 's network of nearly 2,000 stores, while Yatrakis will oversee the company's legal functions. Both executives will report to COO Kenneth Bull.
Rodney Lastinger
Most recently, Lastinger served as COO at GNC since December 2024, where he directed operations across more than 2,200 franchise and corporate stores nationwide. Prior to GNC, he served as president of retail at Conn's Home Plus, leading all company operations including stores, supply chain, merchandising, in-home sales and service, and real estate.
Earlier in his career, Lastinger spent 18 years at Target, progressing through roles of increasing responsibility to senior VP of stores. He will officially join Five Below on June 22.
"I have long admired Five Below's unique ability to connect with its core customer through trend-right products at exceptional value in a fun store experience," said Lastinger. "I am excited to join the talented team at Five Below, and I look forward to partnering with the crew to drive operational excellence and deliver outstanding experiences for our customers."
Christos Yatrakis
Yatrakis joins Five Below after having served as chief people & legal officer at Allbirds, Inc. for the past two years, where he oversaw legal, corporate governance, SEC compliance and people functions for operations spanning more than 20 countries.
Prior to Allbirds, he held senior legal and operational roles at Gymshark USA Inc., including general manager, North America, and at Arrow Electronics, Inc., where he served as VP of legal affairs. Yatrakis joined Five Below on June 15.he appointments come on the heels of Five Below seeing a 32.5% surge in sales in its most recent quarter amid strong new store performance. Comparable sales increased by 22.7%, driven by a 4% increase in ticket size and a 19% rise in transactions. Five Below plans to open a total of 150 new stores this year.
"We are thrilled to welcome Rodney and Christos to the Five Below crew," said Five Below CEO Winnie Park. "Rodney brings exceptional operational leadership and a proven track record of driving results and building high-performing teams across large, multi-unit organizations. His fresh perspective and customer-focused approach will be invaluable as we continue our store expansion and further enhance our store experience.”
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Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Five Below operates over 1,900 stores in 46 states. Most of its inventory is priced between $1 and $5, with some “extreme value items” priced beyond $5.
