Vera Bradley, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRA) (“VRA” or the “Company”) today
announced a new streamlined corporate structure designed to drive
cost savings, add more focus on marketing and merchandising, and
position the Company to deliver steady top- and bottom-line growth.
As a part of the reorganization, the Company has
eliminated the positions of Vera Bradley Brand President, Chief
Creative Officer, and Chief Revenue Officer. As a result, three
members of the Vera Bradley Brand executive team – President Daren
Hull, Chief Creative Officer Beatrice Mac Cabe, and Chief Revenue
Officer Mary Beth Trypus – have departed the organization. “Daren,
Beatrice, and Mary Beth each have made many meaningful
contributions to the fabric and culture of our Company,” Jackie
Ardrey, President and Chief Executive Officer of VRA commented.
“Individually, each has made a big impact on Vera Bradley and the
Company we are today. Their influences will be with us for years to
come.
“These decisions were made in order to right-size
our leadership team and cost structure for the size of our
business, to address the continuing challenging macro environment,
and to best position us to achieve our long-term strategic
plans.”
The Company will add a position of Senior Vice
President of Merchandising and Design for Vera Bradley, with
Merchandising; Product Development; Design; and Merchandise,
Planning, and Allocation reporting to that new post. A search is
currently underway.
Pura Vida Co-Presidents Griffin Thall and Paul
Goodman have made the decision to leave the Company, effective
January 28, 2023. The Company will acquire the remaining 25%
interest in Pura Vida from Thall and Goodman for $10 million,
effective January 30, 2023. Ardrey noted, “We thank Griffin and
Paul for building and growing such a wonderfully unique business
and entrusting it to VRA. We remain very optimistic about the
opportunities ahead for Pura Vida.” The search for President of
Pura Vida is currently underway. In the interim, Pura Vida’s Vice
President of Finance, Sujay Shah, will assume day-to-day oversight
of Pura Vida and will report directly to Ardrey. Although Thall is
leaving day-to-day operations, he will continue in a consulting
role to support the team with marketing and branding direction.
Alison Hiatt has joined the Company as Chief
Marketing Officer to oversee digital marketing, customer data, and
ecommerce. The Vera Bradley brand and creative marketing, retail
store, and retail brand experience teams will also report to Hiatt.
Ardrey noted, “Alison will be a great addition to VRA with her
extensive background as we elevate our focus on branding and
continue to deliver a seamless digital and store commerce
experience to our customers.”
Hiatt is an accomplished consumer and marketing
leader with a versatile and deep track record of success for
several industry-leading brands. Most recently, she was Chief
Marketing Officer for Salt and Straw. Over the past four years, she
was an instrumental part of transforming the unique ice cream
company from a regional brand to an emerging national one through
innovative marketing, digital, and ecommerce initiatives and
strategic partnerships. Prior to Salt and Straw, Hiatt was Chief
Marketing Officer of Banfield Pet Hospitals, a division of Mars,
Inc. Previously, she held marketing-related and other retail posts
with REI, Starbucks, and Amazon.
Ardrey noted, “It is critical to have a
high-functioning, aligned executive leadership team, and this
flattened and streamlined structure will help us execute better,
make faster decisions, and drive success. These most recent
organizational changes will produce annualized savings of over $2
million, on top of the $25 million of cost reductions previously
identified and largely realized in fiscal 2023, which should
position us to be a stronger, more nimble organization.
“I have been on board three months now. I am more
convinced than ever that both brands have enormous potential, and I
am very excited about the future of Vera Bradley, Inc. We have a
portfolio of two iconic, lifestyle brands; multi-generational
customers with remarkable loyalty and devotion; amazing brand
recognition; a solid balance sheet; and an extraordinary culture. I
believe the Company will deliver meaningful growth and value to our
shareholders over the long term. We have some heavy lifting to do
in fiscal 2024, but I am confident that we will emerge a stronger
Company.”
About Vera Bradley, Inc.
Vera Bradley, Inc. operates two unique lifestyle
brands – Vera Bradley and Pura Vida. Vera Bradley and Pura Vida are
complementary businesses, both with devoted, emotionally-connected,
and multi-generational female customer bases; alignment as casual,
comfortable, affordable, and fun brands; positioning as “gifting”
and socially-connected brands; strong, entrepreneurial cultures; a
keen focus on community, charity, and social consciousness;
multi-channel distribution strategies; and talented leadership
teams aligned and committed to the long-term success of their
brands.
Vera Bradley, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a
leading designer of women’s handbags, luggage and other travel
items, fashion and home accessories, and unique gifts.
Founded in 1982 by friends Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia
R. Miller, the brand is known for its innovative designs, iconic
patterns, and brilliant colors that inspire and connect women
unlike any other brand in the global marketplace.
In July 2019, Vera Bradley, Inc. acquired a 75%
interest in Creative Genius, Inc., which also operates under the
name Pura Vida Bracelets (“Pura Vida”). Pura Vida, based in La
Jolla, California, is a digitally native, highly-engaging lifestyle
brand founded in 2010 by friends Paul Goodman and Griffin Thall.
Pura Vida has a differentiated and expanding offering of bracelets,
jewelry, and other lifestyle accessories.
The Company has three reportable segments: Vera
Bradley Direct (“VB Direct”), Vera Bradley Indirect (“VB
Indirect”), and Pura Vida. The VB Direct business consists of sales
of Vera Bradley products through Vera Bradley full-line and factory
outlet stores in the United States, verabradley.com,
verabradley.ca, Vera Bradley’s online outlet site, and the Vera
Bradley annual outlet sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The VB Indirect
business consists of sales of Vera Bradley products to
approximately 1,700 specialty retail locations throughout the
United States, as well as select department stores, national
accounts, third party e-commerce sites, and third-party inventory
liquidators, and royalties recognized through licensing agreements
related to the Vera Bradley brand. The Pura Vida segment consists
of sales of Pura Vida products through the Pura Vida websites,
www.puravidabracelets.com, www.puravidabracelets.eu, and
www.puravidabracelets.ca; through the distribution of its products
to wholesale retailers and department stores; and through its Pura
Vida retail stores.
Vera Bradley Safe Harbor
Statement
Certain statements in this release are
"forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe-harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current
expectations or beliefs concerning future events and are subject to
various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to
differ materially from those that we expected, including: possible
adverse changes in general economic conditions and their impact on
consumer confidence and spending; possible inability to predict and
respond in a timely manner to changes in consumer demand; possible
loss of key management or design associates or inability to attract
and retain the talent required for our business; possible inability
to maintain and enhance our brands; possible inability to
successfully implement the Company’s long-term strategic plan;
possible inability to successfully open new stores, close targeted
stores, and/or operate current stores as planned; incremental
tariffs or adverse changes in the cost of raw materials and labor
used to manufacture our products; possible adverse effects
resulting from a significant disruption in our distribution
facilities; or business disruption caused by COVID-19 or other
pandemics. Risks, uncertainties, and assumptions also include the
possibility that Pura Vida acquisition benefits may not materialize
as expected and that Pura Vida’s business may not perform as
expected. More information on potential factors that could affect
the Company’s financial results is included from time to time in
the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the
Company’s public reports filed with the SEC, including the
Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statement.
CONTACTS: Investors: Julia Bentley, VP of Investor
Relations and Communications jbentley@verabradley.com (260)
207-5116
Media:
mediacontact@verabradley.com 877-708-VERA (8372)
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