Wet Seal CMO Resigns
Wet Seal Chief Merchandising Officer Harriet Sustarsic resigned on Oct. 5, according to the Foothill Ranch, Calif.–based juniors retail chain.
She will remain at the company until Oct. 19, and then she will join True Religion Brand Jeans as its general merchandise manager.
Wet Seal merchandisers Kim Bajrech and Debbie Shinn will assume Sustarsic’s duties on an interim basis, said Ken Seipel, president and chief operating officer of Wet Seal. Bajrech and Shinn directed Wet Seal’s merchandising organization previously.
“As partners in this capacity previously for two years, Kim and Debbie led this team under our fast-fashion merchandising model. During that prior tenure, comparable-store sales grew in nine out of ten months from November 2010 through August 2011. Given this proven success, we have complete confidence in their ability to drive the return to our previous fast-fashion merchandising strategy at Wet Seal.”
The news of Sustarsic’s departure comes at the end of a proxy fight between Wet Seal and hedge fund Clinton Group over the composition of the Wet Seal board. On Oct. 5, four of the seven-member Wet Seal board resigned from the company. Remaining board members are Kathy Bronstein, John Goodman and Ken Reiss. Former Wet Seal Chairman Hal Kahn will serve as a consultant to ensure an orderly transition, according to Seipel.—Andrew Asch
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