Genesco Inc. (Nashville) has hired Chris Santaella as EVP and and Chief Merchandising Officer of its Journeys Group, effective Feb. 5. Santaella replaces Pete Hicks, who retired in October 2023. He will report to Journeys President Andy Gray, another Foot Locker alum.
“I look forward to partnering with Chris, with whom I’ve worked closely with for many years of my career,” said Gray, who joined the 800-unit Journeys chain last November. “He’s a highly respected industry leader known for his collaborative management style and successful long-term brand relationships who will strongly complement our already-outstanding team.”
Santaella will lead Journeys’ buying, merchandising, planning and product strategies, building on Journeys foundation as a leader in teen fashion footwear retail and its brand mission of “an attitude you can wear” self-expression inspired by youth culture, the company said in a news release.
At Foot Locker, he served more than three decades in successive roles, most recently as SVP and Chief Merchandising Officer responsible for Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker and Champs Sports. He led a 125-person global product organization which included divisional buying teams, global product development and product strategy teams.
Journeys’ parent company, Genesco, is a footwear focused business that operates a total of about 1350 retail stores and e-commerce websites under the Journeys, Little Burgundy and Schuh brands. It also runs the Johnston & Murphy chain, and its Genesco Brands Group sells branded lifestyle footwear to retailers under licensed brands for Levi’s, Dockers and G.H. Bass.