Human Resources

Philadelphia -- Five Below announced the departure of Jeffrey Moore, executive VP merchandising.

"Over the last seven years Jeff has been an integral part of the success of Five Below as he has helped build the world-class merchandising team we have in place. We thank Jeff for his significant contributions to the business and we wish him well as he leaves to spend time with his family," said Tom Vellios, co-founder and CEO of Five Below.
   

The International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association has a new chairman and four new board members.

Ohio State University assistant vp for business advancement Rick Van Brimmer was elected chairman of the trade group, filling a position that was held the past two year by Maura Regan with Sesame Workshop. Other key moves saw LIMA board member James Slifer with The Joester Loria Group named vice chairman and Pete Yoder of Cartoon Network elected to the executive committee as a liaison to the board.

Walmart is enhancing its perishable supply chain in the upper Midwest with a new distribution center in Mankato, Minn., slated to open in early 2015.

The retailer broke ground late last month on the 420,000-sq.-ft. facility located a little more than an hour southwest of Minneapolis. Once open in the Spring of 2015 the DC will serve stores in Minnesota and neighboring states of Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Former Best Buy and Advance Auto Part executives are the newest members of the senior leadership team at the 2,216-store Bridgestone Retail Operations group where chairman and president Stu Crum wants to do the unthinkable.
 
Crum wants to eliminate the smell of rubber from the company’s stores and see the Firestone name mentioned alongside companies such as Nordstrom and Starbucks during conversations about retailers who provide a great customer service experience.
 

Hamilton, Bermuda -- Signet Jewelers Ltd. on Tuesday announced that Theo Killion, CEO and president of its newly acquired Zale division, has resigned, effective July 31.

Killion had been tapped to lead Zale as a separate division within the company, Signet said when the deal closed in late May. George Murray, Signet's current chief integration management officer, has been promoted to president of the Zale division and will succeed Killion upon his departure.

New York -- Online beauty subscription brand Julep has tapped former Blue Nile executive Dwight Gaston as chief delivery officer. In the role, he will oversee Julep's operations, customer service, fulfillment and product development teams to ensure efficient delivery of products to its customers.

Julep said it develops more than 300 new products each year for its Maven subscribers and e-commerce customers, and shipments are growing exponentially.

Chain Store Age recently spoke with Alison Paul, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and retail and distribution leader, about the expanding role of the CFO in retail organizations:

How has the role of the CFO in retail organizations changed?

New York -- TPG Architecture has promoted Nicole Varadi from senior designer to design director, retail studio.

Varadi, who joined TPG in 2011, will now take on a greater degree of leadership within the retail studio while continuing to work actively on projects. Recently, she helped lead the design of The Red Door, the award winning day spa and beauty boutique in Union Square. She is currently working with brands such as Sundance and Rent the Runway, and is playing an active role in acquiring new business for the firm.