Hot Topic Restructures as Part of Turnaround Plan

Teen retail chain Hot Topic announced several changes last week as part of its turnaround plan, in the face of lagging sales and stock losses. The company reported that Chief Merchandising Officer Amy Kocourek has left the company, and that board member Lisa Harper, who took over as chief executive last week after Betsy McLaughlin resigned, will now also oversee merchandising. Harper is credited with improving the clothing and sales of children’s apparel retailer Gymboree while chief executive from 2001 to 2006. “Here I feel like operationally we are sound, we have a good structure and have good teams in place,” Harper said during a conference call with analysts. “This is going to be more of a merchandising, planning, and mechanics of product turnaround in the short term. I think there is a solid business and core brand that still resonates with the customer. But we have to be better about getting out of products and concepts faster.”

The company will also end its online music store, ShockHound.com and will write down unproductive inventory and fixed assets “that are no longer critical to the strategic direction of the company,” according to a regulatory filing. It will also discontinue reporting monthly sales as of the third quarter of this fiscal year.