During a time of continued C-suite transition, department store retailer Belk has appointed MaryAnne Morin as its President and Chief Merchandising Officer. Morin joined Belk to fill the role vacated in June 2022 by former EVP and CMO Chris Kolbe. Kolbe left Belk after co-founding eco-conscious fashion and textile company HyperNatural.
Morin will manage Belk’s merchandising, planning and private brands. She is a retail executive with more than 30 years of experience whose most recent work has included leading Republic Clothing Group as President and Stein Mart as President and Board Director. Her career in leadership also has included work with companies including Hudson’s Bay, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s and Echo Design Group.
“We are always striving to provide our customers with the best shopping experiences, which includes offering quality products they want at prices they can afford,” said Don Hendricks, CEO of Belk in a statement. “MaryAnne’s wealth of knowledge will help us make that experience even better, whether customers are shopping in our stores, on Belk.com or our mobile app.”
Belk’s C-suite has gone through a number of changes over the past year-plus. In July 2021, the company promoted its former President and Chief Merchandising Officer Nir Patel to the role of CEO, but he left in May 2022 to join GameStop as Chief Operating Officer.
Advertisement
In August 2022, Belk filed a complaint in U.S. District Court Western District of North Carolina suing Patel and GameStop, alleging they solicited the department store’s senior employees to join the gaming retailer. Belk also alleges that former SVP of Supply Chain Tim May stole confidential employee compensation information when Patel poached him. May joined GameStop in August 2022, according to Footwear News.
At the time of Patel’s departure in May 2022, Hendricks was appointed as Interim CEO after serving as Belk President and COO. Hendricks was permanently appointed to the CEO role in September 2022.
