Vera Bradly names industry veteran, former Saks exec as head of store development

Fort Wayne, Ind. - Vera Bradley has hired industry veteran-and former Saks executive— Harry Cunningham as head of store development, effective December 8, 2014.



Cunningham has nearly 25 years of experience in store design and visual merchandising. He has been with Saks Fifth Avenue since 2006, most recently as senior VP of store planning, design and visual merchandising.



Prior to that, he held various visual merchandising roles of increasing responsibility with Liz Claiborne, Saks Department Store Group and Dillard's.



At Saks, Cunningham was key in the re-launch of the company's men's stores in Beverly Hills and Chicago and in the design of Saks' full-line department store in Sarasota, Florida, the company's first fully-reimagined store in nine years.



While at Saks, he also developed the luxury retailer's fashion windows and legendary holiday displays and launched new designs for the company's signature designer and contemporary businesses. Cunningham also was responsible for developing the store design that was instrumental in positioning the Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH brand for growth.



"As we continue transforming Vera Bradley into a premium global lifestyle brand, store presentation and site selection will become even more critical to our brand and to the success of our business,” said Robert Wallstrom, CEO, Vera Bradley.



“Harry will be charged with developing and implementing innovative visual and store merchandising design for our own stores as well as our department store partners, overseeing new store construction and remodels and working on site selection for new Vera Bradley stores."