Vera Bradley, the handbag, accessories and gift retailer, has named Karen Peters, a former Saks executive, as its new Executive Vice President of Retail and Wholesale Sales. She will report directly to CEO Robert Wallstrom.
In her new position, Peters will oversee Vera Bradley full-line and factory outlet stores. She also will have responsibility for the brand’s indirect channel, which includes gifts and department store relationships, store visual and store real estate. She will split her time between the company’s New York office, its headquarters in Fort Wayne, Ind., and store and retail partners.
With more than 25 years of retail experience, Peters most recently served as Senior Vice President and Director of Stores for Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH. Prior to her tenure at Saks, which ran from 2005 to March 2014, Peters held management positions at Kohl’s, Sears and Target.
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“During her tenure at OFF 5TH, Karen managed numerousnew store openings, relocations, and renovations; substantiallyimproved customer service metrics including conversion, checkout time,new customer acquisitions, and email capture; and effectivelycollaborated with the merchandising and visual teams to elevate product assortments and in-store visual presentations,” Wallstrom said. “Karen will be a real asset to the company as we continue to add new retail stores, expandour department store presence, and stabilize our specialty giftchannel.”
