Blum Takes the Reins at Juicy Couture … and More Industry News

MANAGEMENT CHANGES
FRCH Design Worldwide (Cincinnati) has added seven employees to its team. Catherine Butcher has joined as director of marketing; Maria Veliman as human resources generalist; Cassie Koch, Carrie Thompson and Zach Kamerer join the Retail & Mixed-Use Studio with Koch serving as the senior professional registered architect, Thompson as senior project coordinator and Kamerer as a project coordinator. Jon Lewis and Ben Williams both join the Specialty Architecture Studio as project coordinators. FRCH Design Worldwide has clients ranging from Disney to Harley-Davidson.

Juicy Couture (Arleta, Calif.) has named Paul Blum chief executive officer. The position had not been filled since Edgar Huber departed in February 2011. Blum was previously the ceo of Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. He also spent five years as ceo of David Yurman.

STORE OPENINGS
Smashburger (Denver) opened its first restaurant in Costa Rica on Dec.1. The restaurant is located at the Centro Comercial Lincoln Plaza in Moravia, San Jose. It is the first of 18 franchise locations planned for the area. Franchise partner Richard Eisenberg of QSR International also plans to open locations in Central America, the Caribbean and South America.

BUSINESS BRIEFS
HOK Product Design LLC (Culver City, Calif.), a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm, has named Culture + Commerce as its licensing and consulting firmin order to gain brand recognition,.

Pattison Sign Group (Heath Springs, S.C.) has acquired Davis Neon, a wholesale U.S. signage manufacturer that was established in 1972. Pattison Sign Group has gained a 150,000+ square-foot facility through the acquisition. In addition, two of Davis Neon’s principal owners, Jamie Davis and Mark Sturkie, will remain with the company under Pattison Sign Group.

Focus Lighting (New York) celebrated its 25th anniversary in November. The architectural lighting design firm’s projects include the retail, hospitality and restaurant sectors.