Ms. Whitehead previously had led the store growth at Ulta Beauty based in Illinois. There she led the growth up to 900 units. Previously, she had been a Regional with Banana Republic.

 Charming Charlie is a privately held specialty retailer of women’s accessories. The company now operates over 180 retail stores and has plans for significant growth. All merchandise is presented by color and has helpful and friendly staff. The environment creates excitement fna fun.

Charming Charlie has headquarters in Houston, Texas.

John Hnanicek joins Charming Charlie as SVP-CIO. John will report to Keith Cline, CFO and will lead their technologies.

Mr. Hnanicek most recently was the CIO and VP Merchandising for Altrec, the e-Commerce outdoors goods retailer based in Redmond, Oregon. Previously, he had been the President of Universe Technologies at Knowledge Universe, the Chief Executive Officer for Paciolan, a software company providing on-line ticketing solutions, Chief Operating Officer for ETOYS,  CIO for Hollywood Entertainment, and CIO for OfficeMax.

Mr. Mazzola comes to Citi Trends with a strong merchandising background. His most recent experience is with a flash sales company based in New York. Prior he was with a respected urban brands apparel company. He also brings 12 years of experience from TJX Companies with the last three as General Merchandise Manager for their A. J. Wright division.

Citi Trends (NASDAQ: CTRN) is based in Savannah, Georgia and operates 511 stores in 29 states. The company is a value-priced retailer of fashion urban apparel and accessories for the entire family.

This movie about the Tuskegee Airmen in World War 2 is American history at its finest!  It is also an enjoyable movie.

I have been lucky to have known George since childhood and have always been proud of his accomplishments. This movie and the related show on the History Channel is his giveback to our society. My heart pitter pats.

John

A T STEWART & COMPANY - NYC - (stereoview card - prior to postcards)

DEPARTMENT STORES OF NEW YORK – A. T. STEWART

Alexander Turney Stewart, an Irish immigrant, opened his dry goods store in 1823. The first store was located at 283 Broadway. The business became so successful he opened a second, much larger store on Broadway between Chambers and Reade Streets. This new store was, in fact, the largest in New York City. It was known as the Marble Palace as the building was clad in Tuckahoe marble. Lord & Taylor which operated out of a small store in Greenwich Village was its only competitor. The store sold imported European merchandise. Fashion shows were held on the second floor in the Ladies Parlor renowned for its large mirrors. The store became well known for its unique design and for the merchandise carried. This store is today known as the first department store in the U.S.

In 1860, Mr. Stewart built a new store further uptown on Broadway between 9^th and 10^th Streets which opened in 1862. This store was still larger and much closer to where the other stores had moved on the Ladies Mile (Macy’s, B. Altman, Lord & Taylor). Cast iron construction allowed the store to be more open and provided for large windows on the street level to showcase merchandise. The building was called the Iron Palace.

Besides being known as the creator of the first department store in the U.S., Mr. Stewart also became known for creating his own mills and sewing factories to produce product for his store. He gained more fame for laying out the plan for Garden City on Long Island.

Alexander Stewart died in 1876. His company continued in business until 1882 when it became Hilton, Hughes & Co run by associates of Mr. Stewart. Unfortunately, the new company failed and closed in August, 1896. The next month the store was acquired by Wannamaker’s from Philadelphia.

Wanamaker’s first building at 280 Broadway later became the headquarters for the New York Sun, the publisher of “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”. The building is now owned by the City of New York. The Iron Palace burned down in a massive fire in the 1950’s when it operated as a John Wannamaker store.

The first department store in the world is the Au Bon Marche in Paris, France. Although A. T. Stewart’s first store opened before Au Bon Marche, his first store was small and was not considered a department store in terms of organization.

Although there are many block prints of the A. T. Stewart store, there are few postcards. The store existed before postcards became legal with the U.S. Postal Service.

A T Stewart Home - Fifth Avenue - NYC

ARNOLD CONSTABLE - FIFTH AVENUE - NEW YORK CITY

For years, the Arnold Constable & Company was known as the “oldest department store” in America. It served the ‘carriage trade’ of New York. Famous customers included the Astor’s, Vanderbilt’s, Roosevelt’s, and Mary Todd Lincoln. The company was known for bring the best French fashion to NYC.

The company was started in 1825 by Mr. Aaron Arnold, an immigrant from the Isle of Wright. Before he opened his store he had been working with James Hearn, founder of Hearn’s. Mr. Arnold’s first store was located at the corner of Canal and Mercer Streets, then the center for retail. In 1837, a vendor, James Constable, married Aaron’s daughter and then became a partner in the firm. That is when the name was changed to Arnold Constable.

In 1868 Arnold Constable opened a new store at Broadway and Nineteenth Streets in NYC. This put the store in the middle the new “Ladies’ Mile” shopping district. It was known as “the Palace of Trade”.

In 1914 the company incorporated with reported capital of $2.5m. That same year the company leased the former home of Frederick W. Vanderbilt and started plans for building a new store on Fifth Avenue at 40^th Street. At this time it was clear that the shopping district was moving “uptown”.

In 1925, Arnold Constable merged with Stewart & Company which led to the expansion into the suburbs. The first suburban store opened in 1937 in New Rochelle, NY. Later, stores opened in Hempstead, Manhasset, and New Jersey.

In the 1960’s, the carriage trade retailer of New York started to face economic troubles. As sales declined, expenses were rising significantly. The company started closing the unprofitable suburban stores. In 1975, the store on Fifth Avenue closed. After 150 years, the Arnold Constable name disappeared. The company did continue to manage its no-name stores, a small specialty retailer offering men’s and women’s separates. This was later sold in the 1990’s to YM, Inc, a Canadian retail chain.

What happened????   Arnold Constable did not adjust to the newer times and merchandising systems. It continued to cater to a dying “carriage trade” customer and did not attract the younger customers.

I visited Arnold Constable in 1973 on a business trip to NYC. I was interested in comparing it to Bullock’s Wilshire and I. Magnin. To me it was clear that Arnold Constable did not know it was hostile to the younger customer. The store also looked dowdy and was not well merchandised. I was not surprised when the company closed a year later.

Plummer & Associates recruited Mr. Giovanni Pesce as SVP-International Sales for Viva Optique, a division of HVHC. Mr. Pesce brings extensive international experience in the eyewear industry. He will be based in Italy and his role will be to develop business in Europe, the Middle East, India, and in the Far East. He joined the company in December, 2011.

HVHC, formerly known as Eye Care Centers of America (ECCA), was acquired by Highmark, Inc., a major health care company and the name was changed to Highmark Vision Group (HVHC). This division operates over 540 retail vision centers across the U.S. with the majority carrying the EyeMasters banner. Other brands include: Vision Works, Vision World, Empire Vision, Cambridge Eye Doctors,Value Vision, Eye DRx, Binyons, Total Vision Care, Hour Eyes, DavisVision,and SteinOptical. HVHC is one of the fastest growing optical retailers in the U.S.

Plummer & Associates, based in New Canaan, Connecticut, is a boutique executive recruitment firm which specializes in serving the direct-to-consumer business sectors (retail, retail services, food service, direct selling/marketing, catalog, e-commerce, m-commerce, and apparel). The firm was founded in 1989 and is well-known for the quality of its work and its unparralled track record for recruiting candidates who are successful both in the short- and the longer-term.

1. Give the prospective employer a sincere reason why you are turning down the job offer. This must be done by phone not by voice message or e-mail.  If you cannot afford to make the move, be upfront about it. If your spouse and family are against the move, you need to be specific as the prospective employer will want to know why this came up so late in the process. If you feel the role is too limited in scope, you need to let them know it. If you feel the financial condition of the employer is too shaky, you need to tell them that you cannot take the risk.
2. Thank them for giving you consideration and making an offer. Show gratitude.
3. Follow up by keeping in touch. Build a bridge; don’t let the bridge built at the offer fall apart.

 In my years of human resources and executive recruiting, I have seen long-standing feuds between individuals which started over how an offer was declined. These feuds could have been avoided.