Hot Topic CEO to Direct Torrid, Too
The top executive post at Torrid, Hot Topic Inc.’s division offering fashionable clothes for plus-size women ages 15 to 29, will remain empty for the near future.
The City of Industry, Calif.–based retailer announced Jan. 25 that former Torrid President Patricia Van Cleave resigned to “pursue other interests.” Betsy McLaughlin, Hot Topic’s chief executive, will take many of Van Cleave’s responsibilities. No executive search to replace Van Cleave has been scheduled, according to Jim McGinty, Hot Topic’s chief financial officer.
“We think the Torrid business can benefit tremendously from her oversight,” McGinty said of McLaughlin’s added responsibilities.
Retail analyst Jeffrey Van Sinderen applauded the news. “When the CEO gets more involved, they often do better than the people they hired,” said Van Sinderen of Los Angeles– based B. Riley & Co. Torrid was judged to have performed poorly during the crucial December Holiday retail season of 2005. It was the third Holiday season that had not gone well for the retailer, according to Liz Pierce, an analyst for the Los Angeles office of Sanders Morris Harris.
“We don’t think we got our share of giftgiving business in December,” McGinty said. “We’re going to reevaluate the seasonality of our business in December and where we should seek our opportunities in 2006.”
Hot Topic runs 114 Torrid stores. —Andrew Asch
