Winston Retail, a consulting agency for retailers and brands, has named Christina Gabriel chief operating officer, and Michael Donohue vice president of retail.
Both positions are new senior roles geared to support growth in the business.
“This new chapter for Winston will allow us to strengthen our operational expertise, accommodate our growth and be more nimble and more flexible with our current and future clients,” said Jan Croatt, founder and chief executive officer of Winston Retail. “Winston’s new corporate structure will allow the company to support larger projects, more diverse client initiatives and double down on its pop-up experiential division, which has been in great demand in the market.”
She said Winston Retail has experienced “exponential growth over the last three years” and that the visual merchandising field team more than doubled in size.
As chief operating officer, Gabriel will oversee a team of 50 corporate employees and 2,800 plus field visual merchandisers. “Retail is constantly evolving. How, when and where customers shop is dynamic, but people are still the engine that brings it to life,” she said. “The level of Winston’s field talent is a competitive advantage our clients can leverage to deliver compelling experiences in-store that exceed expectations and build loyalty.”
Donohue will be hiring new team members to help oversee client retail initiatives, activations, and pop-up retail operations. “My first step will be to build a foundation for the new retail department and newly expanded team which will be crucial to growing the service capabilities that Winston offers,” said Donohue.
The New York City-based Winston Retail indicated that it currently works with over 100 brands and retailers, including Walmart, Footlocker, Saks Off Fifth, Vail Resorts, Academy, Cotton On, Eddie Bauer, The Container Store, Hugo Boss, Barbour, Wolverine, Moose Knuckles, Yeti, Birkenstock, MZ Wallace, Shinola, Happy Socks, Yeti, Stanley, Hanes, and Sparc Group Events. It also does activations for PGA, US Open and Westfield Holiday Marketplaces.
The team at Winston includes art directors, designers, project managers, architects, visual merchandisers, and stylists.
Gabriel is a 25-year veteran of retail operations. She founded her own agency, called Spark Retail Experience; worked as vice president of retail for Bulgari in North America, and held executive jobs at Kiehl’s Since 1851 and J. Crew.
Donohue spent 13 years at Kohl’s with his last role being senior vice president of merchandise and presentation, U.S and Canada.
