Five Below CEO Resigns
Five Below, Inc. has named Kenneth Bull as interim president and chief executive officer, effective immediately.
This leadership change follows the resignation of Joel Anderson, who has stepped down from his roles as president and CEO, and from the board of directors, to pursue other interests. Thomas Vellios, co-founder, non-executive chairman, and former CEO, will serve as the company’s executive chairman on an interim basis. The board of directors will conduct a search for a permanent CEO.
"I have tremendous confidence in Ken and the senior leadership team who will continue to execute on our growth strategy,” said Vellos. Ken has been an integral part of the Five Below team for nearly two decades, including leading the company for 11 years as CFO and most recently as COO, with significant experience and deep knowledge of our business."
Anderson departs the retailer at an integral part of the year with the back-to-school shopping season now underway and the fourth quarter just around the corner. Despite the change in leadership, Bull said the company remains committed to delivering on its extreme value promise to customers while driving profitable growth for shareholders.
“We have a highly experienced management team and a deep bench of talent across the organization whom I am proud to work alongside,” he said.
In addition to announcing the change in chief executive, Five Below reported comparable store sales for the 10-week period ended July 13 were down 5% when compared to the same period the previous year. The retailer expects sales for the fiscal second quarter ending August 3 to be in the range of $820 million to $826 million with comparable store sales to be down 6% to 7%.
