California Apparel News

eStyle Inc. has announced the appointment of Thomas F. Park III as president and chief operating officer of the Los Angeles-based online baby and maternity retailer. In the new position, Park will report to eStyle chairwoman and chief executive officer Laurie McCartney.

Park, a 10-year veteran of the Burbank, Calif.-based Walt Disney Co., was most recently worldwide executive vice president and general manager of Disney Store Inc.

“We’re excited to have Tom Park aboard,” said McCartney. “He’s a respected operator and knows how to take a brand and blow it out.”

At the Disney Store, Park’s responsibilities included the management of merchandising, marketing, real estate, store operations, logistics, finance and information technology. He also opened two new Disney Store prototypes in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Cherry Hill, N.J., which have served as the model for refurbishing the chain.

Separately, McCartney also said that the two-year-old company, which operates babystyle.com and kidstyle.com, is launching its babystyle Maternity Collection of clothing in two department store chains this fall. The company first tested the clothing in 50 specialty boutiques, including Fred Segal and Mum’s the Word, earlier this spring and met with successful results, said McCartney, who declined to name the new retail partners. The label includes the casual Newport Collection’s double-stretch pants, slim skirts, Lycra T-shirts and poplin shirts and the dressier New York Collection’s matte jersey separates and shirred black dress. Items will retail from $28–$78.

The move is a way to enhance eStyle’s multi-channel approach to sales, according to McCartney, who doesn’t worry about cannibalizing sales.

“Our customer shops in different ways, including using our catalog and our Internet sites,” she said. “Our job is to reach them in the fastest way they want to shop.” —Nola Sarkisian-Miller