North Bergen, NJ-based Vitamin Shoppe Industries Inc. incorporated its
Internet business, VitaminShoppe.com, as a separate
subsidiary focused on e-commerce.
Kathryn Creech, founder of Hearst’s HomeArts Network, has been named
president and chief executive officer of the e-commerce subsidiary.
VitaminShoppe.com, launched in April 1998, had first quarter 1999 revenues in
excess of $2 million, the company said.
VitaminShoppe.com is supported by a distribution and customer-service
facility in New Jersey owned by the parent company and allowing same-day
shipment of a range of nationally branded products, offered at discounts of
20 percent to 40 percent.
Creech established HomeArts as a popular Internet destination
for women. Previously, she was vice president of global marketing services
for Dun & Bradstreet and she has held a number of senior marketing and
management positions in the cable television industry.
“Kathryn’s experience in building online brands that complement the business
strategies of a traditional parent company are unsurpassed,” said The Vitamin
Shoppe’s president and founder, Jeff Howard. “The Vitamin Shoppe is one of
the most recognized names in vitamin retail. With Kathryn at the helm,
VitaminShoppe.com will dramatically strengthen its already significant market
leadership.”
Creech’s priorities at VitaminShoppe.com include acceleration of marketing
and business-building initiatives, as well as continued enhancement of the
functionality of the site. Creech will also expand the VitaminShoppe.com
management team, which is relocating to Manhattan.
The parent company, Vitamin Shoppe Industries Inc., was founded in 1977 and
has more than 50 retail stores in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region.