Bloomingdale’s Hires The First Chief Merchant In Its History

Bloomingdale’s, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2023, named Denise Magid as its first chief merchant.

Ms. Magid had been serving at Bloomingdale’s as EVP and GMM for ready-to-wear, center core (shoes, handbags, accessories and fine jewelry), concessions and Bloomingdale’s outlets. Merchandising responsibilities were previously handled by Bloomingdale’s CEO.

“We are confident that Denise’s vision and leadership will continue to strengthen our relationships with our brand partners and further refine how we can cater to the unique needs of the Bloomingdale’s customer,” said Tony Spring, Bloomingdale’s chairman and CEO, in a statement.

A WWD article reasoned that merchandising leadership has become more important as “merchandising and buying at Bloomingdale’s is rapidly changing and getting more complex through the adoption of additional channel formats.”

The merchant role has also become more analytics-driven with big data not only helping guide fashion trends and localization pushes but tasks such as pricing optimization, inventory and mitigating supply chain disruption.

Yumi Shin, chief merchandising officer at Bergdorf Goodman, told Fashionista of her role, “First and foremost, I think it’s managing the overall merchandising vision for the company, with the customer journey and experience in mind. That includes brand management and creating experiences that connect the Bergdorf brand to the customer. Then, you’re responsible for inventory management and for bringing in new brands and deciding which brands you want to grow. It’s a lot of analytics to drive high-level strategies.”

Nata Dvir, Macy’s chief merchandising officer, said last year at Jefferies Annual Consumer Conference, “It’s that big heavy science part of my team that we rely on to really think about how we’re going to be productive with our inventory and pricing in the future.”

Ms. Magid’s appointment comes as Bloomingdale’s comps rose 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter, outperforming declines seen at most mall-based chains, including a 3.3 percent slide at Macy’s.

Beyond its 34 Bloomingdale’s full-line stores and bloomingdales.com, the Macy’s-owned upscale chain now operates 20 Bloomingdale’s The Outlet locations after opening its first in 2010. It also has two smaller-format Bloomies stores. and is launching a marketplace in the second half.

• Bloomingdale's Promotes Denise Magid to Chief Merchant - Bloomingdale’s/PRNewswire

• Denise Magid Becomes Bloomingdale’s First Chief Merchant - WWD

• What It Means To Be A 'Chief Merchant' In The Evolving Luxury Retail Landscape - Fashionista

• Macy's, Inc. (M) Jefferies Annual Consumer Conference (Transcript) - Seeking Alpha

• Macy’s, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2022 Results - Macy’s

• RetailWire Whitepaper: The Rise of the Data-Driven Chief Merchant - RetailWire

• In Retail, Data Elbows Aside Chief Merchants - The Wall Street Journal