Vera Bradley Hires New Executives to Change Strategy

Vera Bradley has brought in six new executives from outside the company to lead changes to its global products, marketing, merchandising, and e-commerce. The company also named Robert Wallstrom its new CEO in November

Vera Bradley is making profits, but they have been decreasing. The company’s stock has also fallen in the past two months. Traditional products are not attracting new customers. Shopper traffic in the company’s retail stores has fallen significantly. Wallstrom believes significant changes to product offerings and marketing are necessary to reverse those trends.

Vera Bradley’s five-year plan encompasses many changes. The company will discontinue its baby gift and clothing lines and shorten the time needed to develop new designs, which has taken 12 to 18 months. Instead of focusing mostly on floral patterns, it will offer more solids. Vera Bradley will reduce the number of handbag styles offered by 30 to 40 percent. The company plans to offer handbags made from real and faux leather, as well as some quilted handbags. They will be more expensive than bags the company has sold in the past, but they will still be competitively priced compared to bags made by other companies. The company will create new products to be sold exclusively in outlet stores. The product line will be expanded to include more stationery, rolling luggage, scarves, and a fragrance.

Vera Bradley will also focus more on customer demand when deciding which products and how many to produce, rather than simply producing items and trying to sell them to customers as they have been doing. The company wants to achieve growth by modernizing and appealing to a wider variety of customers.

Vera Bradley’s new chief merchandising officer will change store layouts to improve sales. The company has signed a five-year contract with Look to market and distribute its products in Japan and plans to close its existing 13 stores in Japan to cut costs. It will begin to sell its products in Macy’s, in addition to its current sales in Dillard and Von Maur. It will open fewer full-price and outlet stores and end sales to retailers than don’t sell much of the company’s merchandise in a bid to boost productivity. The executives want retailers to limit their orders to the most popular items. The company will also reduce spending on air freight and payroll.