Katy and Kate join Five Below board

Kroger executive Kathleen “Katy” Barclay and former Coach executive Catherine “Kate” Buggeln are the newest member of the Five Below board of directors.

Despite similarities in name, Katy Barclay and Kate Buggeln bring different strengths to the rapidly growing teen and tween retailer’s board. Barclay has more than 35 years of experience in the human resources field and currently serves as senior vice president of human resources at Kroger.

Prior to Kroger, Barclay spent 25 years at General Motors Company serving in various human resources roles. Beggeln joins Five Below's Board with over 30 years of experience in the retail industry. She currently serves as a member of the board for Vitamin Shoppe, Ascena Retail Group and Noble Biomaterials. She previously served as senior vice president of strategy business development at Coach and also spent many years as a retail consultant at LakeWest Group Ltd. and Coopers & Lybrand LLP. She also previously served as a board member at Stuart Weitzman and the Timberland Co.

"We are excited to welcome Katy and Kate to our Board of Directors," said Tom Vellios, executive chairman of Five Below. "As we execute on the significant store growth opportunity ahead, talent will be an important component and Katy's extensive knowledge and experience in human resources management together with Kate's deep retail and diverse business expertise will be invaluable. We're fortunate to have Katy and Kate and believe that their collective knowledge and expertise will be of great benefit to Five Below as we continue to expand into new and existing markets, realize our substantial store opportunity and build value for our shareholders."

Rapid store expansion is one way the company is looking to build shareholder value. This year, the operator of 365 stores plans to open 70 new locations on top of the 62 new stores that were added in 2014.