RG Barry Corporation, the maker of lifestyle footwear and accessories under the Dearfoams, Baggallini and Foot Petals labels, appointed Scott Erdman as president of Baggallini and Joseph Bean as SVP of e-commerce wholesale.
Effective immediately, both Erdman and Bean will report to Bob Mullaney, president and chief executive officer of the RG Barry Corporation.
Erdman is an industry veteran in retail, merchandising and ecommerce with more than 25 years of experience in the luxury retail, apparel and accessories categories. Erdman was most recently chief merchandising officer at eBags, the world’s leading online retailer of travel-related products. There, he was part of a senior management team that strategically drove the company’s valuation through growth, culminating in the sale of eBags to Samsonite in 2017.
Prior to eBags, Erdman served as chief merchandising and marketplace officer at Bluefly, a leading online retailer of designer brands, fashion trends and superior value. Erdman spearheaded the site’s transformation from an asset-owned business model into a marketplace business platform, creating a destination for fashionable consumers. Earlier in his career, Erdman held various leadership positions at Comcast/NBCUniversal, Saks Fifth Avenue, LVMH and Macy’s.
“The Board and I are confident that Scott is the right person to lead Baggallini, unlocking the brand’s future growth opportunities and further strengthening its wholesale and e-commerce operations,” Mullaney said. “Scott is an extremely accomplished and versatile, product-driven merchant with significant experience in delivering a high-level, integrated omnichannel approach that enhances the ever-changing, digitally-empowered consumer journey. “
“A highly collaborative change-agent, Scott is a forward-thinking leader who values a high-performance team mindset. On behalf of the entire organization, we are so excited to have Scott at the helm of the Baggallini business unit. We look forward to working closely with him as we continue to fuel our key engines of growth, including enhanced ecommerce capabilities, global expansion and most important−a relentless consumer focus,” added Mullaney.
Bean comes to RG Barry Corporation with more than 25 years of experience in wholesale operations and key account sales. Most recently, Bean was vice president of internet wholesale, North America for The Rockport Company. In this role he was responsible for all wholesale shipments to internet and DTC (direct-to-consumer) accounts in the U.S. and Canada, as well as managing the company’s full segmentation strategy. Prior to that, he served as vice president men’s wholesale for Clarks, where he managed the relationships with key U.S. department stores and big box distribution channels.
Before that, Bean held various positions in sales, product development and merchandising with Brookstone and Filene’s, among others.
“Our e-commerce business is on an exciting growth trajectory and Joe brings a compelling vision for propelling it to the next level,” Mullaney said. “He is uniquely qualified to further enhance our e-commerce model for all three business units; his extensive expertise in wholesale, e-commerce merchandising and digital customer experience strategy will help us further drive sustainable, long-term growth across all of our brands.”
