Just nine months after taking on the dual role of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Torrid, Tim Martin has resigned “to pursue other opportunities,” effective May 26, 2023. His responsibilities will be handled by other executives at the apparel, intimates and accessories retailer.
Paula Dempsey, SVP of Finance and Investor Relations, will take on the role of interim CFO until a permanent successor is named. She has extensive retail experience, most recently as SVP of Corporate Finance for Mattress Firm, which was purchased by Tempur Sealy earlier this month.
CTO Hyon Park will step in to manage the retailer’s supply chain, and CEO Lisa Harper will oversee other operational functions, including stores and real estate.
Torrid has had an unusually high number of top-level management changes over the past year. Harper was named CEO in May 2022; she had previously served as CEO of Torrid from 2011 to 2016 and served as CEO of Belk from 2016 to 2021. Park was hired at the same time as Martin, in August 2022, and interim CFO Dempsey joined the retailer in January 2023.
Advertisement
The retailer’s most recent financial results paint a picture of a company facing tough headwinds. For Q4 of its fiscal 2022, which ended Jan. 28, 2023, net sales dropped 5.5% compared to the same period the previous year, to $301.2 million, with comparable sales declining 5.4%.
The picture was a bit rosier for the full 2022 fiscal year; net sales dropped just 0.7% compared to fiscal 2021, to $1.288 billion, with comparable sales dropping by 3.4%. Torrid operated 639 stores at the end of the fiscal year.
