Vera Bradley Names Thomas R. Giacalone VP, E-Commerce

FORT WAYNE, Ind., May 12, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vera Bradley, Inc. VRA ("Vera Bradley" or the "Company") today announced that Thomas R. Giacalone has been named Vice President, E-Commerce.

Robert Wallstrom, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, noted, "Growing our e-commerce business is a critical piece of our five-year strategic plan, and we are very fortunate to have someone of Tom Giacalone's background and caliber join Vera Bradley to lead this important function."  

Giacalone will be in charge of setting the strategic and tactical direction for verabradley.com and all of the digital operations associated with presenting the Vera Bradley brand on the web. In an effort to grow Vera Bradley as an omni-channel company, he will collaborate with many partners on both the retail (direct) and wholesale (indirect) sides of the business to establish the course for the Company's enhanced digital strategy.

Giacalone is an experienced Fortune 50 executive with a wealth of both traditional and omni-channel retail experience. Since 2012, he has served as Vice President of Omni-Channel Strategy and eCommerce Operations for OfficeMax, where he led the omni-channel customer experience and drove operational efficiencies and revenue growth. Prior to that, he held various positions of increasing responsibility in stores, merchandising, operations and e-commerce with Sears Holdings, including the post of Divisional Vice President/General Manager of Multichannel Management.

Giacalone has been active with shop.org, the digital arm of the National Retail Federation (NRF), since 2004 and serves on the Member Services Committee. 

Giacalone will report to the Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer once that position is filled but will report directly to Wallstrom in the interim. He will be based in Fort Wayne. 

About Vera Bradley, Inc.

Vera Bradley, Inc. is a leading designer of women's handbags and accessories, luggage and travel items, eyewear, stationery and gifts.  Founded in 1982 by friends Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller, the brand's iconic designs and versatile styles offer women of all ages a colorful way to accessorize.  Vera Bradley offers a unique, multi-channel sales model as well as a focus on service and a high level of engagement with fans.  Fiscal 2014 net revenues totaled approximately $536 million.  The Company's commitment to breast cancer research continues to increase its reach through the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer.  For more information about Vera Bradley VRA, visit www.verabradley.com/mediaroom.

Vera Bradley Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this release are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectations or beliefs concerning future events and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected, including: possible adverse changes in general economic conditions and their impact on consumer confidence and spending; possible inability to predict and respond in a timely manner to changes in consumer demand; possible loss of key management or design associates or inability to attract and retain the talent required for our business; possible inability to maintain and enhance our brand; possible inability to successfully implement our growth strategies or manage our growing business; possible inability to successfully open new stores as planned; and possible inability to sustain levels of comparable-store sales. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in our forward-looking statements, please refer to "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 1, 2014. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement. Financial schedules are attached to this release.