Von Maur at 150 and Adidas' CEO Shuffle

Welcome back to FN Daily, where we break down the biggest stories happening in footwear and retail.

Today, we're celebrating Von Maur's 150th anniversary by taking a look at the company's growth — and the power players behind it.

We're also looking at the CEO shakeup across Puma and Adidas and what that could mean for both companies.

150 Years of Von Maur

Von Maur department store chain was founded in Davenport, Iowa in 1872.

On the occasion of the retailer's 150th anniversary, we sat down with some of its leaders to talk about the history and evolution of the company.

Jim von Maur, president and CEO of Von Maur and the retailer’s fourth-generation leader, said he's "not into buzzwords or terms companies use to keep Wall Street happy."

“Shouldn’t it just be you want to provide a great product, at a great price with great service? That’s our strategy. Call it whatever you want,” he said.

Von Maur's Power Players

Von Maur COO Melody Wright has a unique perspective on the company’s growth trajectory. She started out on the sales floor in 1996, which she said was crucial to climbing up the ladder.

Since then, Wright has been a crucial architect of Von Maur’s operational strategy, touching each aspect of the business, from merchandising, store operations and distribution to logistics, information systems, e-commerce and security.

VP of merchandising Joy Place leads Von Maur’s differentiated customer proposition.

“We’re an independently held store where we’re bringing in our own mixture of goods based on the kind of merchandise that we would like to carry,” Place explained. “That’s kind of what our store is about."

Adidas' Potential New CEO

Adidas on Friday said it?was in talks?with former Puma CEO Bj?rn Gulden as a potential successor to current?CEO Kasper Rorsted, after Puma announced the same day that the chief executive would leave his role at the end of the year and be replaced by 11-year company veteran Arne Freundt.

Overall, analysts were upbeat about this move in terms of the potential benefit for Adidas. One analyst described the potential hiring as a “game-changing development for the company and investor sentiment.”

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