Talbots Aims to Boost Sales With Two Exec Appointments

Continuing to rebuild its team to elevate its image and reverse weak sales trends, Talbots Inc. on Thursday made two key appointments at the Talbots brand: Basha Cohen has become executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, and Michael Smaldone has been named chief creative officer.

Smaldone moves into a newly created job. He will be based in the company's product office in New York, and will build a complete Talbots brand design function. He was most recently senior vice president of design at Ann Taylor, and earlier served as chief design officer of Anne Klein and creative director of Elie Tahari.