Levitz names chairman, CEO
Zigerelli worked with Meijer, CVS
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, January 17, 2007
NEW YORK — Levitz Furniture has hired retail and consumer products veteran Larry Zigerelli as chairman and CEO, replacing Elliott Wahle and Tom Baumlin.
Former CEO Baumlin will remain with the company for a period of transition before returning to Levitz owner Prentice Capital, where he worked as an advisor prior to Prentice's acquisition of the 80-store Top 100 chain. He will continue to serve as a board member of Levitz. Former Chairman Wahle also will continue his association with Prentice.
Most recently, Zigarelli was president of Meijer, a grocery and general merchandise retailer with 185 stores in the Midwest and estimated revenue of more than $10 billion. Before that, he was executive vice president of corporate development and marketing for drug store giant CVS.
Earlier, in 18 years at Procter & Gamble, Zigerelli had various general management and brand management responsibilities. In 1994, he was named vice president and general manager of Puerto Rico/Caribbean food and beverage, and Latin America marketing and public relations.
He also serves on the board of hardware cooperative True Value Co.
“We’re thrilled to attract such a significant talent to the new Levitz Furniture,” said Jonathan Duskin, managing director of Prentice. “Larry has deep roots in retail and a skill set ingrained in general management, brand building, marketing and connecting with the customer. We view his appointment as a logical next step in the evolution of the company.”
Zigerelli said he’s excited about joining the retailer.
“We have all the elements in place upon which to build Levitz’ future: a great team of dedicated associates, a great brand and support from Prentice,” he said. “Tom Baumlin has built a tremendous foundation from which we can go forward and all of us at Levitz are thankful for his contributions.”
Duskin credited Baumlin with successfully navigating “Levitz from the depths of bankruptcy to stability, and placed it on a trajectory for growth.
“He has repaired relationships with our vendors, landlords and customers, has built a world class executive team, and has managed a seamless relocation of our headquarters to downtown Manhattan. We want to express our gratitude to Tom and we are excited that he will continue on the Levitz board and as a member of the Prentice team.”
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