Wilsons The Leather Experts Inc has announced that it has appointed Michael Searles to the position of chief executive officer at the company, effective as of December 15, 2004. He will also join the board of directors. Searles will succeed Joel Waller who has been with the company for 28 years and has served as CEO for 21 years and announced his resignation in late October (see Leatherbiz.com November 1). He will remain at the company in the role of chairman of the board and will assist Searles during a transition period.

Searles, 55, has over 30 years of experience in the retail trade and holds an impressive track record having served as CEO of Factory 2-U stores where he led an aggressive restructuring of the company, changing the corporate name, closing unprofitable stores and adding brand names such as Nike, Oshkosh, Levi’s, Lee and adidas to the product mix. He was also president of Kids “R” Us and Women’s Specialty Retail Group. “Mike is an experienced leader who will bring a tremendous wealth of knowledge, retail operating experience and merchandising and marketing expertise to the company,” said Joel Waller.

Searles commented: “I’m delighted to join an organisation with so much potential. Wilsons Leather has made excellent progress and my immediate focus will be to continue the momentum created by Joel and the senior team as we drive top-line sales.”

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