Jowzik Named Bebe's Chief Merchandising
Bebe Stores Inc. named Dyan Jowzik as its executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for the contemporary fashion company’s retail division on June 23. Bebe runs 290 specialty stores across the United States and is based in Brisbane, Calif.
Jowzik has 26 years of specialty and department-store experience on her reacute;sumeacute;. Her last job was at juniors retailer Wet Seal Inc., where she was the chief merchandise officer of the company’s Wet Seal division. She resigned from the Foothill Ranch, Calif.–based retailer on May 8 after two years. She also served as a general merchandise manager at now-defunct department store Robinsons-May and as executive vice president of sales of merchandising and production for Carole Little Inc.
Retail analyst Liz Pierce reported that Jowzik’s hiring was a good move for the retailer and the manufacturer. But she wrote in a June 24 research note that she did not expect to see Jowzik’s influence on Bebe’s merchandising floor until the holidays. Pierce works for Newport Beach, Calif.–based Roth Capital Partners.
Another retail analyst, Jeffrey Van Sinderen, also considered Jowzik to be a “solid” merchant with a good track record at Wet Seal. He noted that the retailer earned good comparable-sales numbers when Jowzik worked there. Van Sinderen works for Los Angeles–based B. Riley & Associates.
Jowzik enters Bebe during some tough times for the company. Bebe comps declined 7.6 percent in its recent third quarter, which ended April 2008, compared with the same quarter in the previous year. Traffic in Bebe stores declined 6.6 percent in the third quarter of 2008.
In another note, Jowzik is the third Wet Seal executive to hold a major position at Bebe. Walter Parks, Bebe’s chief financial officer, formerly worked as an executive vice president at Wet Seal. Bebe Chief Executive Officer Greg Scott was formerly the president of Wet Seal’s Arden B division. —Andrew Asch
