Hoffman Estates, Ill. — Sears Holdings is losing two of its top consumer electronics merchants.
Jonathan Magasanik has left his post as VP/general merchandise manager of Sears’ home electronics department. The one-time Staples exec joined Sears in that role 2.5 years ago from Tweeter Home Entertainment, where he was VP/general merchandise manager for car and audio.
Also exiting Sears’ CE unit is Jonathan Zupnik, who reported to Magasanik as divisional merchandise manager for TV and A/V. Zupnik will leave this Friday after 18 years with the chain for a post with an unidentified LCD TV vendor.
Magasanik’s plans could not be disclosed due to a contractual agreement.
No successors have been announced.
The departures follow the February appointment of Karen Austin as home electronics president. Like her corporate counterparts, Sears’ former chief information officer was brought in as division president “to grow those businesses in which we can differentiate ourselves from the competition,” interim CEO Bruce Johnson said at the time.
Zupnik noted that his decision to leave the company represents an opportunity to bring his 23 years of retail experience to the vendor side of the CE business, and was strictly independent of any actions at Sears.
