HSN turns a corner with Cornerstone

HSN Inc. has named Jeffrey Kuster president of Cornerstone and executive officer of HSNi. Kuster will report to HSNi CEO Mindy Grossman.

Kuster, 48, has held various leadership positions in the apparel, fashion and retail industries, most recently as EVP and chief marketing and strategy officer for Berkshire Hathaway's Fruit of the Loom.

"Jeff is joining HSNi at an exciting time in our company's history," said HSNi CEO Mindy Grossman. "His background and experience in digital commerce, strategic growth initiatives and lifestyle brand development will contribute to the continued growth and development of our overall business. We welcome and look forward to his contributions."

The company said Kuster will assume responsibility for HSNi's portfolio of aspirational home and apparel lifestyle brands, including Frontgate, Ballard Designs, Garnet Hill, Grandin Road, Chasing Fireflies, Improvements, and TravelSmith.

Cornerstone is an interactive, direct-to-consumer business that distributes more than 320 million catalogs annually, and operates eight unique ecommerce sites and 11 retail stores. Digital sales penetration at Cornerstone today represents 68% of its business, while mobile grew 20% in Q3 and now represents 15% of the division's total annual sales.

HSN Inc. is a $3.4 billion multichannel retailer on TV, online, via mobile devices, in catalogs, and in brick-and-mortar stores.