Five Below Taps Top Forever 21 Exec as CEO

Five Below Inc. (Philadelphia), which describes itself as a trend-right, high-quality extreme-value retailer for teens and pre-teens, has hired Winnie Park as CEO. Currently CEO of Forever 21, Park will join her new employer and its board on Dec. 16.

“Winnie is a passionate retail visionary with a deep understanding of the consumer and the power at the intersection of trend and value,” said Thomas Vellios, co-founder and Executive Chairman. “The breadth of her leadership experience, especially her merchandising expertise, customer acumen, strong global background, and importantly, how she values people and champions organizational culture all make her uniquely suited for the role. Combined with COO Ken Bull’s expertise and deep knowledge of our business, I’m confident that together we will unlock tremendous potential for our customers and shareholders by delivering amazing product at exceptional value in a fun store experience.”

Ms. Park served as CEO of Forever 21 since January 2022, leading a brand refresh for the fast-fashion company focused on younger consumers with a social-media-first approach to engaging with customers. Prior to Forever 21, Ms. Park was the CEO of Paper Source, where she drove the business from a traditional brick-and-mortar retailer to an omnichannel lifestyle brand. Before that, Park served as EVP, Global Marketing and eCommerce, and Global VP, GMM, Merchandising, at Hong Kong-based Duty Free Shoppers, a division of LVMH. Park has also led Women’s Merchandising for Dockers at Levi Strauss & Co. and worked at consultant McKinsey in fashion retail and consumer digital.

“I’m a huge fan of the Five Below brand and its unique ability to connect with and empower teens and pre-teens through an amazing assortment of extreme-value items in a fun shopping environment,” said Park. “There is enormous opportunity to build on the exciting initiatives that are already underway as we elevate our product, value and experience. I am excited to be a part of the continued growth of the brand and to be partnering with Tom, Ken and the rest of the talented team as we execute on the long runway for growth ahead.”

Five Below has 1750-plus stores in 44 states.

Forever 21, a unit of Authentic Brands Group, had not disclosed its plans for replacing Park as of this posting.