When revitalizing a once-beloved tween retailer that’s passed its heyday, who better to hire than a seasoned retail vet who is not only adept at youth marketing and turnarounds, but also got her ears pierced at said retailer at the age of 8? That retailer, you might’ve guessed, is tween trinket seller Claire’s, and the hire is Michelle Goad, who led Gen Z digital innovation at Nike, served as chief digital officer at Athleta in the midst of the Gap-owned athletic wear brand’s turnaround, and most importantly, spent her childhood shopping at Claire’s. It's the retailer’s first C-suite hire since investment firm Ames Watson bought it for $140 million following its bankruptcy filing last August. At the time, Ames Watson Co-Founder Lawrence Berger told Retail Brew the firm had a lot of changes planned for the retailer. Nostalgia won’t be enough to bring the once-cool Claire’s back to life; it’ll have to work to gain aura points with a fresh crop of Gen Alpha shoppers. But Goad—who oversees Claire’s marketing, retail experience and design, and product creation—is poised to implement changes that’ll establish the retailer as a “life moment retail destination.” Keep reading here.—EC |