Five Below Appoints Wal-Mart's Joel Anderson As President

(RTTNews) - Specialty retailer Five Below Inc (FIVE) Tuesday announced the appointment of Joel Anderson as President and Eric Specter as Chief Administrative Officer, both effective July. Both will report directly to Tom Vellios, Co-Founder and CEO of the firm.

In their new roles, Anderson will lead all aspects of merchandising, stores and marketing, while Specter will oversee supply chain operations, information technology and real estate.

Anderson was most recently the President and CEO of Walmart.com, the multi-billion dollar U.S. dotcom business unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT). Prior to joining Wal-Mart, he was with Lenox Group and Toys "R" Us, Inc.

Most recently, Specter was Executive Vice President and Chief Integration Officer for Ascena Retail Group as well as Acting President of Catherines, a women's apparel brand with approximately 400 stores. Previously, he served in various leadership capacities with Charming Shoppes.

The appointment of the two key senior executives would help drive the continued expansion of the brand, the company noted.

Vellios stated, "With the additions of Joel and Eric, both of which were contemplated in our recently provided fiscal 2014 guidance, we have rounded out our executive team, strengthening our capabilities and positioning Five Below to successfully execute the next chapter of growth. We are confident that we have the right leadership talent and expertise in place to capitalize on the many opportunities that lie ahead."