Key takeaways:
- The Vitamin Shoppe has appointed Kimberley Gardiner as EVP, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer, effective immediately.
- Gardiner previously served as Chief Marketing Officer at Tractor Supply, where she helped grow the retailer’s Neighbor’s Club loyalty program to more than 40 million members.
- She’ll report to CEO Sharon Leite and take charge of brand strategy, ecommerce, loyalty and communications as the company approaches its 50th anniversary.
The Vitamin Shoppe, a specialty retailer of health and wellness products, has hired Kimberley Gardiner as its new EVP, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer, effective immediately.
Gardiner will report to CEO Sharon Leite and will join the executive leadership team. Her responsibilities span a wide swath of the business, including brand strategy and creative direction, performance marketing, ecommerce, customer relationship management, loyalty programs and corporate communications, according to a press release.
Gardiner arrives from Tractor Supply, where she spent four years as SVP and Chief Marketing Officer. During her tenure there, she oversaw marketing efforts across the retailer’s more than 2,400 stores and worked on strengthening the company’s “Life Out Here” brand identity. She also played a role in expanding the retailer’s use of customer data and performance marketing, and she managed the Neighbor’s Club loyalty program, which surpassed 40 million members under her leadership.
Before joining Tractor Supply, Gardiner held the CMO role at Volkswagen of America, where she directed brand strategy, media planning and dealer marketing. Her resume also includes senior marketing positions at Mitsubishi Motors North America and Kia Motors America, as well as CMO and VP of Operations at the digital asset management firm 5th Kind. She began her career with a 15-year run at Toyota Motor Sales, USA.
What Will Gardiner’s Role Involve at The Vitamin Shoppe?
At The Vitamin Shoppe, Gardiner is expected to lean on customer data to sharpen brand relevance and build more personalized experiences across the company’s stores and digital platforms. She’ll also collaborate with the merchandising team and brand partners to highlight product storytelling and introduce emerging wellness trends to shoppers.
“Kimberley is an exceptional marketing leader with a proven ability to reinvent established brands and turn customer insights into measurable growth,” Leite said in a statement. “As The Vitamin Shoppe prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, we have an opportunity to build on decades of customer trust and loyalty while reimagining how we engage with the modern wellness consumer. Kimberley brings the experience and vision to help us reach new audiences and create more personalized experiences across every touchpoint. I look forward to partnering with her to shape The Vitamin Shoppe’s next chapter.”
Gardiner said she was drawn to the company’s long-standing mission.
“The Vitamin Shoppe has spent nearly five decades helping millions of people navigate the changing world of health and wellness, a mission that reflects my deep interest in how people can live and feel better,” she said in a statement. “I’m excited to build on that legacy and bring fresh thinking to how we tell our story and connect with consumers across retail and digital. I look forward to working with Sharon and the team to create a more dynamic and relevant brand experience designed for the ways consumers discover, shop, and engage with wellness today.”
Gardiner holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from Mills College and an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. She also sits on the National Retail Federation’s Marketing Executives Council and the PopTech Advisory Board.
The Vitamin Shoppe, founded in 1977 and based in Secaucus, New Jersey, operates more than 640 stores nationwide along with international partnerships across Asia, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. The company sells vitamins, supplements, sports nutrition products and functional foods under its own brands, including The Vitamin Shoppe, Vthrive The Vitamin Shoppe, BodyTech, BodyTech Elite, plnt, ProBioCare and True Athlete.
The Vitamin Shoppe CEO Sharon Leite recently joined the Retail Remix podcast to talk about the latest wellness trends, AI tools for customer associates and more. Listen here:
