Richard Baker, CEO, Hudson's Bay Trading Company L.P. (HBTC), announces today the appointment of Brendan L. Hoffman to President & CEO of Lord & Taylor LLC, (L&T) a subsidiary of HBTC, replacing Jane Elfers, whose contract had expired.
Mr. Hoffman's appointment is effective October 6, 2008. Mr. Hoffman will report directly to Jeffrey Sherman, President & CEO of Hudson's Bay Company, another subsidiary of HBTC. He joins L&T from Neiman Marcus Direct, where he served as President & CEO.
Richard Baker said, "Jeff's leadership is integral to creating a world class retail organization, and with Brendan heading up Lord & Taylor, Bonnie Brooks heading up The Bay, and Mark Foote heading up Zeller's, we now have the team in place to do just that."
The executive reorganization enables the Hudson Bay Trading Company and its subsidiaries to generate sizeable economies of scale through improved purchasing, shared services, and more efficient utilization of information technology including internet retailing. In addition the subsidiaries will be able to benchmark and share best practices across the various organizations.
Jeffrey Sherman said, "I'm delighted to welcome Brendan in his new role. Brendan is an extremely smart and talented merchant, and I expect him to capitalize on the foundation that already exists at Lord & Taylor to take the company to the next level."
Mr. Hoffman said, "Lord & Taylor is where I started my retail career and I am incredibly proud to return as its President and CEO. I'm excited to work for Jeff and this dynamic new retail conglomerate."
Mr. Hoffman began his retail career in the Executive Training Program at L&T. He left L&T in 1996 as Divisional Merchandise Manager, Men's Furnishings. He also spent two years at Bergdorf Goodman as DMM, Men's before joining Neiman Marcus as VP of their Last Call clearance division. Since 2002 he has been President & CEO of Neiman Marcus Direct.
He received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating from the Wharton School of Business with an M.B.A. in 1997. He will be relocating to New York from Dallas with his wife, Abby, and their two children.
Jane Elfers has been President and CEO of Lord & Taylor for the past 9 years.
As part of the executive reorganization Mark Weikel will also be departing L&T. Mark Weikel has been instrumental in partnering with Ms. Elfers in repositioning L&T as well as improving the level of service and operations in the business.
"Jane Elfers & Mark Weikel have done a spectacular job in elevating the Lord & Taylor brand," said Mr. Baker, "and in doing so have lead Lord & Taylor from one generation to the next. All of us at HBTC wish both Jane and Mark much luck in their future endeavors."
HBTC is a leading North American retailer with four divisions: Lord & Taylor, an upscale specialty retailer with 47 stores in nine states; Fortunoff, a 23 retail store chain specializing in fine jewelry and home furnishings in the New York Tri-State area; Creative Design Studios, the fashion design and manufacturing division that creates branded collections for customers throughout North America and internationally, and the Hudson's Bay Company.
