Dive Brief:
- Southern-inspired lifestyle brand Draper James on Tuesday announced it named Jeannie Yoo its new chief executive officer, effective Oct. 15.
- Yoo is a fashion industry veteran, who most recently served as president of Adam Lippes where she drove growth across all channels, including DTC. She has also been director of e-commerce at Coach and global merchandising for Michael Kors, per a news release.
- At Draper James, Yoo will focus on direct-to-consumer channel growth, category diversification and global scaling. She also takes on an advisory role within the broader Consortium Brand Partners portfolio, which also includes activewear brand Outdoor Voices.
Dive Insight:
Consortium, a brand management company, acquired a 70% majority stake in Draper James a year ago from founder Reese Witherspoon, who remains a partner and board member.
Now, as Draper James seeks further growth, it has tapped an industry veteran to lead the brand.
Jeannie Yoo took the top spot at Draper James on Oct. 15.
Courtesy of Draper James
“Jeannie’s vision, combined with her coveted accomplishments across e-commerce, wholesale, and retail, makes her the perfect leader to guide Draper James through our next era of evolution,” Cory Baker, founder and managing partner of Consortium Brand Partners, said in a statement. “Her passion for honoring heritage and community closely aligns with the Draper James mission, and I’m confident that her accomplished portfolio of expertise will take the brand to new heights.”
The brand also announced the additions of Lauren Frohlinger as vice president of merchandising and Piper Parsley as vice president of brand marketing and e-commerce. Both Frohlinger and Parsley joined the brand in June, per their LinkedIn profiles.
Draper James — which designs and markets women’s apparel, accessories and home items — has expanded its distribution over the years, including through a partnership with Kohl’s with its Draper James RSVP label.
This year has seen a number of brands switch out leadership, most notably at Nike where former executive Elliott Hill rejoined the company. Others included Ipsy, which named Galen Smith to the CEO position in September, and Party City, which tapped a turnaround expert in August to steer the company post bankruptcy.
