San Francisco — Good Guys appointed a new president/COO, who had been a member of the board, and expanded the responsibilities of executive VP Cathy Stauffer, as well as making other changes to its management roster yesterday.
The new president is Thomas Herman, a director on Good Guys’ board and a co-founder of Oak Harbor Partners LLC, a real estate developer. He reports to chairman/CEO Ken Weller, and succeeds Peter Hanelt, who completed a year’s commitment with the chain and will continue as a consultant to the company.
Weller described Herman as a “seasoned executive who offers unparalleled operational and financial experience,” which includes numerous senior level operating positions with national and regional retailers.
In addition, the merchandising duties of executive VP Cathy Stauffer have been expanded to include retail stores and sales. Weller described the added responsibility as a “natural extension of her role,” the focus of which has been to upgrade and differentiate Good Guys’ merchandising and marketing.
Among other changes, merchandising director Michael Mohan and advertising director Mary Doan have both been promoted to VP level, and corporate psychologist Elizabeth Gibson, Ph.D. has been elected to the board.
Weller noted that the management changes will further support the company’s objective of improving the quality of sales and overall customer experience.
The appointments came a week after the chain reported an $8.4 million loss for its fiscal first quarter, which ended May 31. Good Guys also had a 14 percent reduction in sales to $143.4 million, vs. the same time last year. The sales performance was due, in part, to five stores that were closed during 2002 as part of the retailer’s restructuring program.
