Rob Gruen Appointed Head Merchant at Electronic Retailer HSN
PRNewswire-FirstCall
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.
Rob Gruen has been appointed Executive Vice President of Merchandising for the electronic retailer HSN, it was announced today by Marty Nealon, President of HSN-US.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060309/FLTH015 )
As head merchant for HSN and HSN.com, Mr. Gruen will be responsible for all aspects of the company’s merchandising programs, including jewelry, soft goods, health and beauty, home fashions, and electronics. He will report to Ms. Nealon.
“Rob is a versatile retail executive with a diverse range of merchandising experience,” states Ms. Nealon. “His broad knowledge of retail, gained through leadership positions with department stores, general merchandisers and entertainment-themed specialty stores, makes him the perfect person to guide our merchandising division as we continue our efforts to expand the variety of high-quality merchandise we offer on HSN TV and HSN.com and capitalize on cutting-edge technologies that will shape the way consumers shop from home.”
“With innovative tools like ‘shopping by remote’ and ‘video on demand’ emerging on HSN’s horizon, it’s an exciting time to be joining the company,” says Mr. Gruen. “I look forward to leading HSN’s strong team of merchants as we work together to maximize the opportunities that these new innovations will provide.”
Mr. Gruen was previously Group Vice President of Softlines and Home at Meijer, a privately owned and operated general merchandise and food super center retailer with over 170 stores throughout the Midwest. In that role, he was responsible for the Meijer’s merchandising efforts in the home and softlines areas.
Before Meijer, Mr. Gruen was President and CEO of Parisian, the specialty Department Store division of Saks Inc., where he developed and implemented a highly successful, comprehensive strategy that emphasized better brands, unique products, and greater levels of customer service, thus differentiating the brand’s position in the marketplace.
Prior to joining Parisian, Mr. Gruen served as Executive Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and Retail Business Development for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. During his tenure at Warner Bros., he was responsible for building long-term profitable brands out of Warner Bros.’ intellectual properties through retail efforts of over 3,700 licensees worldwide and the development of strategic promotional plans with third-party partners such as General Motors, MCI and the U.S. Postal Service. In addition, he established a Retail Business Development team of account executives recognized by retailers as the best in the licensing industry. His responsibilities also included the marketing and promotional activity for the Warner Bros. Studio Stores and the overall management of both the Warner Bros. online site and the catalogue operation. Mr. Gruen also held executive positions with Foley’s, Dayton Hudson Department Stores, Target, and Rose’s Stores.
Martens & HEADS! Executive Consultancy conducted the search, which resulted in Mr. Gruen’s appointment.