Longtime Genesco president steps down

Genesco Inc. will be on the hunt for a new leader after its longtime president stepped down Tuesday.



The company announced that Genesco senior VP and president Ken Kocher has resigned. Kocher is expected to remain employed by the company in a consulting capacity for up to six months. The company has begun a search for Kocher's successor. In the interim, Genesco chairman, president and CEO Robert J. Dennis will act as the group's president.



"I look forward to working closely with the senior leadership team at the Lids Sports Group during this transitional period," Dennis said. "Ken Kocher has led this business through an exciting and dynamic phase of its development, and we thank him for his contributions and wish him the best in his future endeavors. I am confident that the renewed focus and discipline that we have brought to the business over the past year have laid the groundwork for us to realize the tremendous potential of the retail and omnichannel concepts within the Group, starting with the new fiscal year we begin this week. We are launching a comprehensive, nationwide search, in addition to evaluating qualified internal candidates, to identify the right person to lead the highly talented Lids Sports team as they build on that foundation and work to realize that potential."



Genesco Inc., a Nashville-based specialty retailer, sells footwear, headwear, sports apparel and accessories in more than 2,800 retail stores and leased departments throughout the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Germany, principally under the names Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Shi by Journeys, Schuh, Schuh Kids, Little Burgundy, Lids, Locker Room by Lids, Lids Clubhouse, and Johnston & Murphy.