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January 15, 2008

BJ's Wholesale Club names new president, COO

BJ's, which has lagged behind Wal-Mart and Costco, has replaced its president.

BJ's Wholesale Club has named company veteran Laura Sen to replace Herb Zarkin as president of the Natick, Mass., retailer.

Sen, 51, joined BJ's in 1989 and served as the executive in charge of merchandising and logistics from 1997 to 2003. She left the company for four years and returned last year. In addition to president, she takes the title of chief operating officer. Sen will be in charge of all day-to-day operations at the retailer.

Zarkin, 69, retains his posts as chairman and chief executive officer. He assumed the CEO job on an interim basis in November 2006 after the previous CEO, Mike Wedge, quit. BJ's, which has stores in Coventry, Johnston and Middletown, perennially lags behind larger discount chains such as Wal-Mart and Costco. Wedge's departure fueled speculation at the time that BJ's was a takeover target, but a sale never came to pass.

The company now has 177 clubs in 16 states. Shares of BJ's (BJ:NYSE) were off 55 cents, falling to $26.58, in early morning trading.

Posted by Paul Grimaldi  at 10:59 AM | Permalink

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