“An idea can turn to dust, or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.” - Anonymous
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
ABOUT US
Our executive search firm specializes in retail, wholesale/manufacturing, catalog/e-commerce searches for middle- to C-level positions. This would include specialty stores, regional department stores and luxury brands, both in fashion apparel and home products.
We have a microscopic approach to search and a telescopic view of the industries we represent, which has proven effective for many years. We are tenacious, competitive, trustworthy, efficient, and thorough. We exhibit a moral and ethical responsibility to both our clients and candidates and are proud to have had the good fortune to represent highly respected, well-run, profitable companies.
Our mission has always been to conduct each search as a partnership, with the sincere intent to further the success dynamics of both our clients and candidates. We apply dimensional and strategic knowledge, coupled with experience, to provide the best service and talent available.
We welcome you as a client and aspire in achieving the ultimate mutually beneficial relationship.
AFFILIATIONS
● American Apparel and Footwear ● National Association of Female Association Executives (NAFE)
● American Woman’s Economic ● National Retail Federation Development Corporation (AWED Corps) ● The Fashion Group International (FGI) ● Direct Market Association (DMA) ● The Luxury Marketing Council ● Home Fashion Products Association
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
CLIENTS
• Abercrombie and Fitch • Jones New York • American Pacific • Kate’s Paperie • Ann Taylor • KB Toys • Anne Klein • Lane Bryant • Ascena Retail Group • Leon Max • Avon • Li and Fung • Babies R Us • Limited Too Brands • Bon-Ton • MAST Industries • Brooks Brothers • Oilily Stores • Brookstone • Parisian • Britannica Home Fashions • Prada/Miu Miu • Calvin Klein • Proffitt’s/Saks Fifth Avenue • Chadwick’s Catalog • QVC • Chic Home Design LLC • Ralsey Group Limited • Chico’s • Reitmans • Christian Dior • Sean John • David Yurman • Shahi Exports • Delia’s Catalog • Southpole • DSW • Spiegel Catalog • Echo Design Group • Starcrest Catalog • Emanuel Ungaro • Tahari • Express Stores • Talbot’s • Gifts.com • The Body Shop • Gump’s • The Children’s Place • Himatsingka • Things Remembered • Hugo Boss • Unisa • Jay Franco and Sons • Urban Outfitters • Jeanne Pierre • Victoria Classics • J. Jill Catalog and Stores • Victoria’s Secret • JLO by Jennifer Lopez • Wal-Mart • John Varvatos • WestPoint Home
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
SEARCH ASSIGNMENTS
RETAIL
● President/Chief Executive Officer ● General Merchandise Manager ● Advertising/Sales Promotion ● Inventory Control Manager ● Buyer/Product Development ● Operations/Warehouse Manager ● Director of Information Systems ● Vice President/Director of Finance ● Director of Operations ● Vice President/Director of Marketing ● Director of Real Estate ● Vice President/Director of Personnel ● Divisional Merchandise Manager ● Visual Merchandising ● Field Supervision
WHOLESALE/MANUFACTURING
● President/Chief Executive Officer ● Operations/Warehousing Director ● Brand Management Director ● Technical Design Directors ● Chief Operating Officer ● Vice President of Product ● Design Directors ● Vice President/Director of ● Director of Product Development Production ● Director of Sourcing ● Vice President/Sales Manager ● Finance
CATALOG/E-COMMERCE
● President/Chief Executive Officer ● Director of Creative Services ● Catalog Buyer/Product Development ● Vice President/Director of ● Director of Customer Services Merchandising
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
The following is a cross-section of our searches: Ann Taylor Disney ● Manager for Creative Services for Loft ● Vice President/Director of Merchandising ● Production Manager for Loft ● Director of Operations ● Vice President of Merchandising DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) Ascena Retail Group ● Art Director E-Commerce ● Chief Merchandising Officer ● Director Graphics E-Commerce ● Director of Creative Marketing ● Director of Creative Services – E-Commerce Emanuel Ungaro ● Director of Merchandising and Sales Avon Products ● Vice President of Sales ● Vice President of Marketing Echo Design Group Britannica Home Fashions ● Chief Operating Officer ● Senior Designer Façonnable Brooks Brothers ● Director of Finance ● Labor Relations Manager ● Vice President of Product Development Himatsingka/Divatex Home Fashions ● Chief Executive Officer Brookstone ● Executive Vice President for Stores, Catalog Jeanne Pierre (div. of Fang Brothers) and Operations ● President
Calvin Klein J. Jill Catalog ● Chief Executive Officer/President ● Executive Art Director ● Chief Financial Officer ● Executive Vice President ● Vice President of Credit ● Vice President/Director of Operations JLO by Jennifer Lopez ● President David Yurman ● Chief Digital Officer – Marketing & John Varvatos E-commerce ● Chief Financial Officer
Delia’s ● Chief Merchandising Officer
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
Jones Apparel Group Ralsey Group ● Vice President/Division Head Sales ● Vice President of Sales ● Design Director Limited Too ● Division Head for Wovens ● Art Director E-Commerce ● Divisional Merchandise Managers Raoul, (Division of FJ Benjamin - ● Executive Vice President of Merchandising Singapore) ● Fashion Director for New Concepts ● Chief Executive Officer ● General Merchandise Managers ● Vice President of Sales ● Manager of Visual Merchandising ● Senior Buyers Reitmans ● Director of Stores for USA MAST Industries ● President Sean John ● Executive Vice President for Men’s ● Director of Credit ● Marketing Director for Men’s Furnishings ● Director of E-Commerce ● Vice President for Joint Ventures
Southpole
Oilily Specialty Stores ● President/Division Head ● President Retail Stores and Wholesale
Tahari Parisian ● Chief Executive Officer/President ● President ● Director of Operations ● Executive Vice President/General Merchandise ● Division Head for Sales Manager
The Children’s Place
Prada/Miu Miu ● Director of Technical Design ● Director for Apparel ● Divisional Merchandise Manager for Accessories ● Director of Women’s Shoes ● Retail Merchandising Versace ● Vice President of Sales Apparel ● Manager of Creative Design E-Commerce
● Vice President of Sales
Proffitt’s/Saks Fifth Avenue ● President WestPoint Home ● Executive Vice President of Merchandising ● Vice President of Sales
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
Terre Simpson – President Terre has owned Simpson Associates for over 20 years. The business is inspired with a passion for excellence, conscience and integrity. Her broad spectrum of search assignments has qualified and provided her with in-depth knowledge and awareness of both qualified companies and the individuals most talented within them. She approaches each search with the highest level of standards, both for the client she represents and the qualified individuals she seeks.
Prior to her establishing Simpson Associates, Terre worked at Herbert Mines Executive Search firm for several years. Her career in retail began as a merchant in accessories and sportswear for May Company, which led to future experiences in wholesaling, direct marketing, and eventually into the world of recruiting.
Terre attended Northwestern University where she majored in Liberal Arts and enjoys participating in several charities and organizations.
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
TALENT SEARCH LEADERSHIP QUALITIES THAT NEVER GO OUT OF STYLE
By Lauren Olsen
Here’s what Terre Simpson, president of Simpson Associates — an executive search firm that focuses on mid- to senior-level roles for the fashion retail and wholesale industries — had to say about what makes a great leader and what she looks for when on the prowl for talent.
When recruiting for leadership roles, what are the top personal qualities you look for? Terre Simpson: “For C-level executives, having a vision is extremely critical right now. Resilience is also important because of the stresses of what has been occurring, as is having very good communication skills. Finally, a person with very strong personal commitment, because I think it is a very challenging time.”
What about specific skill sets? TS: “There are many, but a couple of them are: the capability of hiring and managing the right team — which would be critical in terms of leadership and being effective — the capability of being decisive, as well as the quality of being collaborative with senior management and staff. And the drive to do the above.”
When reviewing an applicant’s experience — for any level of a role — what is most important? TS: “Results. Whatever it is, they have to have good results.”
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
Fashion’s Talent Race: Executive Pay Soars
By Evan Clark
THE PAY AND the perks at the top are good – very good.
Sixty-seven fashion executives logged compensation of more than $5 million last year, according to a WWD analysis of publicly traded brands and retailers in the U.S.
A lot of that compensation is just paper, though – stock and option grants made up the majority of many executives’ pay and pushed total compensation for the group to $880.6 million. While that’s a large number by any measure, it completely depends on how much the 67 executives earn from cashing in all those options and grants. It could be less.
“None of them have to work for money,” said Terre Simpson, president of search firm Simpson Associates. “It’s the drive for success and accomplishment. They work because of the challenge; it’s not really the compensation, that’s the secondary result of their drive to be challenged.”
And while it’s still an executive landscape dominated by men – there are only six women among the top 67 paid fashion executives, including Jackwyn Nemerov, executive vice president of Ralph Lauren Corp., and Carol Meyrowitz, CEO of The TJX Cos. Inc. – there are hopes that the gender gap will narrow, Simpson said.
“In order to be a CEO, you usually are in your 40s or older. Those generations, the women and men were treated differently growing up,” she said. “When I was brought up, girls had to behave. You weren’t allowed to take chances. It was a different world.”
Simpson said women coming through the ranks today could be better represented in the industry’s executive ranks.
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
Hire Ground Fashion recruiter Terre Simpson elevates careers.
Don’t call Terre Simpson a headhunter. She’s a fashion headhunter, thank you very much, which means the shoes she’s hired to fill often bear designer labels (an important distinction, indeed). A former buyer in accessories and sportswear for the May Company Corporation, she decided to use her firsthand industry know-how to launch the New York City-based search firm Simpson Associates in 1984. Since then, her revenues have increased an average of 30 percent each year, with companies such as Calvin Klein, The Limited, Delia’s, and Abercrombie & Fitch signing on to let Simpson do what she does best---bring them fashion’s brightest stars. Here, she shares ladder-climbing insights for would-be ascendants---and says that in the fashion world, wearing a tight skirt and a pair of Jimmy Choo’s might actually aid your arduous climb.
Do companies ask you to recruit talent from the competitors? They wouldn’t tell me to go to a specific rival company, but they make it clear that they’re looking for someone in a similar market. If I’m looking to fill a wholesale position, for example, I would directly to a similar manufacturer and find the person that handles the exact same accounts my client wants.
Any tips for a would-be buyer? To have a strong retail career, you cannot start in a corporate office. There are just too many limitations. You have to start in an actual store and get the hands-on training. If you’re not willing to do this, you’re going to short-circuit your career, because in a store there are so many more parameters by which you can grow. Also, get yourself a four-year degree, preferably in business. Retailers are doing a lot of on-campus recruiting right now, and they’re going after some really high-profile schools to get trainees.
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
Hire Ground Fashion recruiter Terre Simpson elevates careers. (Continue…)
What about tips for breaking into design or production? The big-name manufacturers want design and production people who’ve had a traditional background at a comparable company---not someone who was a designer for him or herself. If you want to get with the larger houses, I would suggest approaching them directly. You see, wholesalers don’t do a lot of college recruiting, and many of them don’t even have human resources departments. Also, they’ll consider unusual and/or creative backgrounds, but they also require some sort of education.
Is it possible to “switch tracks” in fashion and go from the retail side to the manufacturing side? Some of the more sophisticated manufacturers actually like to hire people that were originally retailers, and it’s a very good idea. A very clear example of that is Liz Claiborne. They’ve been able to take a retailer that doesn’t have a following, for instance, and transpose their retail management skills into the wholesale side. Smaller companies can’t typically afford to do that, though, because they want somebody who already has accounts.
In general, what qualities do fashion companies look for in an employee? Every company I work with says they want someone who’s extremely motivated, who can think independently and who has good management skills, but those qualities have to be in a certain package. There’s a certain look you have to have, a certain demeanor you have to have, and it differs from company to company. Gucci’s idea of the “package” is different than Target’s. Not better, just different.
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
A PACKAGE DEAL By Meredith Derby
According to Terre Simpson, president of Simpson Associates, a New York-based executive search firm specializing in the retail market, companies used stock and option awards as “a future incentive.”
Though stocks are still at depressed levels, Simpson explained, when executives are invested in their firms, they have additional motivation to improve the company’s financial performance and – assuming stock prices follow suit – cash out big when the economy heals. “Executives are saying, ‘Give me something else for incentive as opposed to an actual salary increase’,” she said.
As in 2007, manufacturing executives received higher average compensation than those who work at retail firms. According to Simpson, vendor exes likely get paid more because of the diversity in the typical manufacturer business model.
“It’s more difficult to get a net profit at retailers because of the whole expense structure,” she said. “Wholesalers have many formats for distribution, so their sales aren’t as crippled as retailers might be. … Unfortunately, [retailers] are much more [vulnerable] to things they can’t control.”
>> Perking Up
While there is some evidence that the “other compensation” footwear executives receive is diminishing, these perks were still and well in 2008.
“If perks are changing, I haven’t seen it,” said Terre Simpson, president of Simpson Associates, an executive search firm. “They are very good things for the morale of higher management.”
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
Operations and Management: Don’t Drop Those Incentives Yet
By Mark Del Franco
(…)
To attract quality workers, companies need to provide incentives to employees regardless of the economy, says Terre Simpson, president of New York-based executive search firm Simpson & Associates. “Offering incentives to employees is pretty standard nowadays,” she says. “As a matter of fact, employees have come to expect it.”
To Push Growth, Retailers Seek Top Merchandisers
By Perri Capell
(…)
Terre Simpson, president of Simpson Associates in New York, a retailing-and-fashion-search firm, is seeking a top merchandising executive for a clothing retailer that’s opening 40 to 50 stores featuring a lower-priced line for “customers who want a good look but don’t want to pay more,” she says.
“They’re what leads the business, and they’re the toughest to find,” Ms. Simpson says.
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
Where have all the great ‘merchants’ of retail gone? As Gap Inc. seeks a turnaround guru, it faces slim pickings, analyst say
By Jennifer Waters
(…)
“This is a tough search,” said Terre Simpson, a 20-year firm veteran who runs Simpson Associates, an executive recruitment firm in New York.
By Simpson’s thinking, for example, Pressler, who led Disney’s theme parks before going to Gap, was intelligent enough and had the management experience to be a CEO. But he lacked what would be considered the equivalent of retail’s street smarts: merchandising know-how.
“This is an industry that’s not predicated on a high level of education,” Simpson said. “It’s predicated on the inherent skill and gift of being a good merchant. That’s not simply a learned tool.”
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]
Retail ranks Continue to Shrink
By David Moin and Sharon Edelson with contributions from Evan Clark, Washington
(…)
Terre Simpson, principal of Terre Simpson Associates, an executive search firm, said, “Specialty shoe chains and accessories chains are segments that are growing. A lot of stores are coming from overseas, but they’re not opening at a major pace. There’s a lot of financial and retail conservatism based on how the economy is going. The cumulative opinion is conservatism.”
Staffing: Cataloger labor crisis
By Mark Del Franco
(…)
Terre Simpson, president/founder of New York-based direct marketing recruiter Simpson & Associates says that catalogers generally offer more money up front. The dot-coms, ironically, promise more on the back-end in the way of stock options and bonuses. “Suppose a candidate has offers from both a catalog company and a dot-com,” she says. “The cataloger offers $200,000 for a senior-level marketing position. The dot-com offers $150,000, but includes ‘silent share,’ so that if the company goes public, the shares push the compensation well past $200,000. It’s a risk that many candidates are willing to take.”
106 Central Park South L inkedIn New York, New York 10019 www.simpsonassociates.com Office: (212) 767-0006 Email: [email protected]