Rick Ausick Is Retiring From Famous Footwear
After four decades in the shoe industry, Rick Ausick will soon say farewell. The Famous Footwear president is stepping down from his post as part of a planned succession process.
The executive will stay on as parent company Caleres Inc. searches for his replacement and will help guide Famous Footwear through the transition.
“The Caleres board of directors and its executive leadership has been preparing for Rick’s retirement by developing a deep bench of strong leaders at Famous Footwear, and by expanding the breadth and depth of our brand portfolio,” said Diane Sullivan, CEO, president and chairman of Caleres in a statement. “We are actively managing the search for Rick’s successor, and since it is incredibly important for us to find the right person for this role, we are considering both internal and external candidates. Our goal is to ensure a thoughtful, seamless transition.”
Sullivan added that thanks to Ausick’s leadership, Famous Footwear is on track to deliver single-digit same store sales increases for fiscal 2017.
The executive, who was inducted into FN’s hall of fame last November, began his career at Marshall Field’s in 1977. His first footwear role was assistant manager at a branch location, overseeing soft-goods categories. “After that, shoes just happened,” Ausick recalled recently.
He served in major positions at several department stores before joining Famous Footwear in 2002 as chief merchandising officer, taking over the top spot in 2009. Under Ausick’s leadership, Famous Footwear has continued to be the largest contributor to Caleres’ performance, racking up about $1.6 billion in sales in fiscal 2016.
“The shoe business has been very good to me,” Ausick said in November. “It has lots of great people, and the customer has an emotional connection to the category, which is unique. These things make it fun to be in the business and feel excited about coming to work every day.”
Caleres has retained Kirk Palmer Associates to assist in the search for Ausick’s successor.
Related stories
Holiday Retail Sales Expected to Be Better Than 2016, But Deep Discounts Helped
Famous Footwear President Rick Ausick Has Grown the Chain Through Strong Vendor Relationships
Liz Rodbell and Rick Ausick Give Passionate Speeches at the 2017 FNAAs
Get more from FootwearNews.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram
