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Smith joins the brand from clothing retailer Tilly’s, where she served as chief merchandising officer from 2019. Before that, Smith spent over 26 years in merchandising roles at Nordstrom. She replaces Hillary Super, whose last day at the company was April 9.
Smith joins at a challenging time for retail. Anthropologie’s parent company Urban Outfitters Inc saw net sales decrease 13.4 percent for the full year ended January 31, 2021.
The fashion group accompanied its announcement of Smith’s appointment with a trading update, noting that sales are improving. The company said net sales in the first quarter of its 2022 fiscal year have so far enjoyed high single-digit growth compared to fiscal 2020. Sales were helped by strong results from its Urban Outfitters and Free People brands in North America. The group said sales at Anthropologie “have improved substantially but remain slightly negative.” Meanwhile, strong online sales have largely offset losses from store closures across other markets, the company said.
