Kirkland's Names New CEO
Home decor specialty retailer Kirkland’s has named Amy Sullivan CEO, effective February 4. She succeeds interim CEO Ann Joyce, who will remain on the company’s board of directors.
Sullivan, who has been with Kirkland’s for more than a decade, was promoted to president and chief operating officer in the spring of 2023. As a member of the executive team, she has helped lead the organization through significant strategic repositioning initiatives, including refocusing marketing efforts and aligning product assortments to drive customer demand. Prior to Kirkland's Home, she held senior-level positions for Express, Lands' End, Kohl's and JCPenney.
"Amy is an invaluable leader within our organization, and over the past nine months she has been instrumental in returning the company to a positive trajectory, including improved 2023 holiday season sales, that we hope to build off of in 2024," said R. Wilson Orr, chairman of Kirkland's Home. "Since transitioning to an executive leadership role, Amy has been integral to the execution of our repositioning strategy and we believe, as CEO, she is poised to return Kirkland's Home to profitable growth over the long-term.
"This is a dynamic time to step into the role of CEO at Kirkland's Home as we start to see our strategic initiatives pay off, with almost a full year of valuable insights and data from our initial repositioning efforts," said Sullivan. "We have a fantastic team in place and great momentum coming off the 2023 holiday season. I look forward to leading the Company through this next chapter and unlocking the long-term growth potential we see for Kirkland's Home."
The announcement of Sullivan’s appointment comes the same day Kirkland’s solid results for the holiday season. Comparable store sales for the first two months of its fiscal year fourth quarter through December 30, 2023, were up 3.1% compared to the same time period the previous year. This includes an increase of 1.5% for November 2023 and an increase of 4.8% for December 2023, both compared to the same prior-year period. The positive comparable sales increase was largely driven by strong in-store performance from increased traffic and conversion, company officials said.