Orva, the New York-based digital retail company, has hired Jeff Espersen in the newly created role of executive vice president and chief merchandising officer. He was general manager and chief merchant at Zappos.
Espersen will lead Orva’s merchandising strategy primarily in its soft line businesses, including shoes, accessories and apparel. This announcement comes shortly after Orva’s appointment of Joe Falcão as chief financial officer.
“Jeff brings many years of invaluable merchandising experience to Orva following his successful tenures at major retailers, including Zappos, DSW and Nordstrom. We look forward to benefitting from his strong experience of implementing and executing innovative strategies and brand initiatives to attract the next generation of customers,” said Elliot Aizer, president of merchandising, Orva.
Abe Shalom, president of Orva, added, “The addition of Jeff in this new role will help solidify Orva’s position as a market-leading e-commerce platform within the apparel industry. We are excited to welcome Jeff to the Orva team and look forward to what we’ll accomplish together.”
Espersen brings more than two decades in merchandising strategy roles working for of major retailers and global e-commerce brands. He joins Orva from Zappos as GM and chief merchant for 12 years. In this role, Espersen was responsible for brand acquisition, supplier relationships, inventory management, and merchandising profitability across Zappos brands Zappos.com and 6pm.com. Before Zappos, Espersen was vice president and general merchandising manager at DSW, Inc. for five years, where he expanded the DSW men’s shoes and the men’s and women’s athletic brand. He began his career at Nordstrom, where he was a divisional merchandising manager for 20 years.
Espersen said, “Orva has built a strong reputation in the e-commerce and apparel industries due to its innovative, high-growth business model and the deep industry relationships it has created with notable brands in the space. It’s an honor to join Orva at this exciting time of growth for the company.”
