Gribetz joins Macy's Home

Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 8/9/2004 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK —

Lester Gribetz will join Macy's Home Store as senior vice president, creative/fashion on Aug. 16.

Gribetz, currently vice president of home-furnishings-fashion direction at Bloomingdale's, reports to Eric Salus, president of Macy's Home Store.

Gribetz will set trend, fashion and lifestyle direction, identify new business formats and relationships and seek brands that will differentiate Macy's Home Store business. He also will be responsible for coordinating the merchant, visual, and stores teams to ensure distinctive and unique product and superior execution.

Both Macy's and Bloomingdale's are units of Federated Department Stores.

At the same time, Macy's Home Store announced that Michael Donohue will join the company as vice president/visual merchandising. He also will report to Salus and begin on Aug. 16.

Gribetz joined Bloomingdale's in 1964 as a trainee and rose to vice chairman for home, men's, cosmetics, restaurants and private label marketing, a position he held from 1989 to 1992. Much of his career was in the home area. From 1992 to 2001 he had an independent marketing consulting business. He returned to Bloomingdale's in his current post in 2001.

Discussing his move, Gribetz said, "I hope to raise the bar a little bit. It's a new challenge and the scope is larger. I do need it to challenge myself as well. I don't see why I can't be leading the Cellar, bridal, furniture and all of home to new challenges."

As for the move to Macy's as new territory, he remarked, "My whole career has been with Federated, so it's not a foreign territory."

Donohue, with more than 20 years experience in creative and visual presentation, most recently was with ALU, a New York-based fixture design company. Earlier, he owned and operated a home furnishings business in Connecticut, and prior to that was with Lillian August, Broadway Department Stores, Laura Ashley and The Emporium.