Dive Brief:
- The Vitamin Shoppe has appointed two vice presidents, the nutritional products retailer announced Monday. Monika Grabania is now vice president of digital marketing, effective Monday, and Erica Evans became vice president of inventory planning earlier this fall.
- Grabania will manage the company’s digital marketing operations with the goal of growing customer engagement and loyalty, and expanding brand presence across its digital channels. She brings more than two decades of experience to the position, including at companies such as Flora Food Group North America, L'Oréal USA, A&E Television Networks and Mindshare/Unilever.
- Evans will plan, forecast and allocate inventory across the company to optimize product availability, sales and channel efficiency. Evans also has over 20 years of experience, including at GNC, Praia Beauty Group and HSN.
Dive Insight:
With its new digital marketing and inventory planning appointments, The Vitamin Shoppe continues to add fresh faces to its executive leadership team.
The company named Mike Forbes its chief strategy officer in August and appointed Kate Vukelich as its chief people officer in October.
“These appointments represent a dynamic next step for The Vitamin Shoppe as we continue building out a high-performance organization aligned with our bold growth ambitions,” Sharon Leite, CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe, said in a press release. “Monika and Erica each bring deep experience at world-class brands and exceptional executional capabilities in their areas of expertise. Their leadership will be instrumental as we elevate the customer experience, hone our digital capabilities, and strengthen our operational excellence to fuel this next phase of our evolution and expansion.”
While The Vitamin Shoppe is adding several new names to its executive team, the company welcomed a familiar face back to the top spot at the company in May. Leite, who served as the retailer’s CEO from 2018 to 2023, returned to the company as its chief executive this spring after an ownership change.
Leite rejoined the company after private equity firms Kingswood Capital Management and Performance Investment Partners acquired the company from Franchise Group in April. The Vitamin Shoppe now has World Market and The Save Mart Companies as sister retailers within Kingswood Capital Management’s portfolio, per the private equity firm’s website.
Franchise Group, The Vitamin Shoppe’s previous owner, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year and ultimately sold the nutrition company for $193.5 million as part of that process.
The Vitamin Shoppe has also been experimenting with its physical stores. In March, the company unveiled its new shop-in-shop concept, called Hometown Stores, at several locations across Texas, New Jersey, Utah and California. The shops showcase brands with a strong presence or headquarters near the location.
