The Children’s Place Appoints Marla Malcolm Beck, Founder & CEO of Macy’s, Inc. Upscale Beauty Retailer Bluemercury, to Its Board of Directors
Proven Specialty Retail Entrepreneur and Operator Further Enhances Board
SECAUCUS, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Children’s Place, Inc. (Nasdaq:PLCE), the largest pure-play
children’s specialty apparel retailer in North America, today announced
that it has appointed Marla Malcolm Beck to the Company’s Board of
Directors, effective immediately. Ms. Beck will serve as an independent
Class II Director and will stand for election at the 2017 Annual Meeting
of Shareholders.
Ms. Beck, 45, is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of
Bluemercury, a retailer and online seller of upscale beauty products and
spa services. Bluemercury was founded in 1999 and acquired by Macy’s,
Inc. in 2015. Today it operates as a stand-alone business with Ms. Beck
serving as CEO and reporting directly to the Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Macy’s, Inc.
“Marla is a customer-focused specialty retail visionary who brings
broad-based leadership and managerial experience in areas critical to
our business, including omni-channel retail, marketing and consumer
insights,” said Norman Matthews, Chairman of the Board. “We are thrilled
to welcome Marla to our team and we look forward to working with her as
the Company continues to drive meaningful progress.”
Ms. Beck qualifies as an independent director within the meaning of the
Marketplace Rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC. Ms. Beck is the
mutually acceptable additional independent director contemplated by the
Agreement dated May 22, 2015 among the Company, Barington Companies
Equity Partners, L.P. (and certain affiliates), and Macellum Advisors
GP, LLC (and certain affiliates).
Ms. Beck currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the
National Retail Federation. Prior to founding Bluemercury, Ms. Beck was
a consultant at McKinsey and Company. She received a B.A. in economics
from the University of California, Berkeley and holds an MBA from
Harvard Business School and an MPA from Harvard University’s John F.
Kennedy School of Government.
About The Children’s Place, Inc.
The Children’s Place is the largest pure-play children’s specialty
apparel retailer in North America. The Company designs, contracts to
manufacture, sells at retail and wholesale, and licenses to sell
fashionable, high-quality merchandise at value prices, primarily under
the proprietary “The Children’s Place,” “Place” and “Baby Place” brand
names. As of August 1, 2015, the Company operated 1,086 stores in the
United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, an online store at www.childrensplace.com,
and had 85 international stores open and operated by its franchise
partners in 11 countries.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements
regarding future circumstances, including statements relating to the
Company’s strategic initiatives and adjusted net income per diluted
share. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company’s
current expectations and assumptions and are subject to various risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to
differ materially. Some of these risks and uncertainties are described
in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including in the “Risk Factors” section of its annual report on Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015. Included among the
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance
to differ materially are the risk that the Company will be unsuccessful
in gauging fashion trends and changing consumer preferences, the risks
resulting from the highly competitive nature of the Company’s business
and its dependence on consumer spending patterns, which may be affected
by the weakness in the economy that continues to affect the Company’s
target customer, the risk that the Company’s strategic initiatives to
increase sales and margin are delayed or do not result in anticipated
improvements, the risk that the cost of raw materials or energy prices
will increase beyond current expectations or that the Company is unable
to offset cost increases through value engineering or price increases,
and the uncertainty of weather patterns. Readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date they were made. The Company undertakes no obligation
to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements
that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date
hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The
inclusion of any statement in this release does not constitute an
admission by the Company or any other person that the events or
circumstances described in such statement are material.
Contacts
The Children’s Place, Inc.
Robert Vill, 201-453-6693
Group
Vice President, Finance
