Bruce Cazenave, who a week ago stepped down as president and CEO of Nautilus Inc., has been named president and CEO of Bluestem Group Inc., a direct-to-consumer retailer, the Eden Prairie, Minn.-based company announced Friday.
Cazenave resigned from Nautilus days after the Vancouver-based exercise brand reported disappointing fourth-quarter results. He’d led the company through a resurgence starting after his appointment in 2011.
When his exit at Nautilus was announced, the company said M. Carl Johnson III, board chairman since 2010, would be interim chief executive. Nautilus said a search for Cazenave’s replacement already was underway at the time of his resignation.
Bluestem Group Inc. is a holding company that operates multiple direct-to-consumer retail brands through its subsidiary Bluestem Brands.
Its holdings don’t include exercise equipment, but its methods of marketing and selling, as well as its target demographics, bear similarities to Nautilus’.
Bluestem Brands is a multi-brand, online retailer of a broad selection of name-brand and private-label general merchandise serving low- to middle-income consumers through retail brands that include Appleseed’s, Bedford Fair, Blair, Draper’s & Damon’s, Gettington, Gold Violin, Fingerhut, Haband, LinenSource, Norm Thompson, Old Pueblo Traders, Sahalie, Tog Shop and WinterSilks.
The brands offer apparel, accessories and home products for the boomer and senior demographic, generally considered age 50 and over. They provide customers with the ability to obtain credit through a third-party private label credit card.
In January, Bluestem announced it would drop six of those brands, including Norm Thompson, whose Portland roots extend to 1949 when its eponymous founder started a fishing-focused retailing company that became a fashion brand. The future of Norm Thompson was unclear on Friday.
The other brands to be dropped include Bedford Fair, Gold Violin, Sahalie, The Tog Shop and WinterSilks. In fiscal 2018, these brands combined to generate approximately 5 percent of the revenue, the company said when it announced its decision.
In October, the company announced it had agreed to pay a $200,000 fine and incur other penalties in a settlement with the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection “related to Bluestem’s direct pay and debt sale practices,” a Bluestem news release says.
Bluestem Group Inc., which changed its name from Capmark Financial Group Inc. in June 2015, is a publicly traded, over-the-counter stock. Its shares were trading at 41 cents on Friday afternoon. Last year the company had about $1.9 billion in sales, a drop from about $2.1 billion the previous year.
Cazenave’s hiring at Bluestem is effective April 1. He succeeds Lisa Gavales, interim chief executive, who remains a member of the company’ board.
Prior to Nautilus, Cazenave served as managing director of Inflection Point Consulting, a business consulting firm, where he consulted with and served as an executive adviser to private equity firms. From 2006 to 2009, he worked for Central Garden & Pet Co., as president of the Garden Décor Group. As a strategy consultant to Timex Corp. in 2006, he focused on supply chain, operational and organizational priorities. From 2002 to 2005, Cazenave served as president and CEO of Dorel Juvenile Group, a subsidiary of Dorel Industries Inc. He has also served in senior executive roles at Black & Decker U.S. Inc. and Timberland. Cazenave is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and received a master’s degree from George Washington University.
Gene Davis, executive chairman of the Bluestem board, said in a news release, “Bruce brings more than 20 years of senior leadership experience, and we are extremely pleased to welcome him to the Bluestem team. His extensive background with global brands and track record of profitable growth make him an ideal choice to lead our company. We look forward to leveraging Bruce’s extensive expertise across a number of key areas including marketing, operations and supply chain as he spearheads the turnaround and future growth of our company.”
Cazenave said in the statement, “I want to thank the board of directors for this opportunity, and I am excited to be joining Bluestem during this transformational period for the company. Bluestem is uniquely positioned as a multi-brand direct to consumer retailer serving a value-oriented customer. Bluestem’s strong portfolio of brands combined with its extensive and deep customer knowledge provides a distinct competitive advantage in the market. The company has the capability to deliver significant long term profitable growth, and I am eager to work with the team to fully capitalize on the current market position and realize that full potential.”
