Former S&K CEO Well Suited For New Job

The former chief executive of Short Pump-based S&K Menswear has found a new home as the president of locally-based RetailData Services.The company collects information about supermarkets and sells it to the grocery industry.  Oliver said he wanted to stay in retail and had known about the company for a decade. “So much of what you […]

August 26, 2009; 4:40 PM • by Aaron Kremer

The former chief executive of Short Pump-based S&K Menswear has found a new home as the president of locally-based RetailData Services.The company collects information about supermarkets and sells it to the grocery industry.  Oliver said he wanted to stay in retail and had known about the company for a decade.

“So much of what you see right now is downsizing or cost cutting. The owners [of RetailData] are really investing in the business right now and adding new divisions and bringing in new people,” Oliver said.

Oliver, a California native, moved to Richmond more than a decade ago and started working at Davenport & Co. He took over as chief executive of S&K Menswear in 2006 and was unable to turn around the company in time to save it from bankruptcy.

“After S&K I took 10 days and got out of Virginia — cleared my head. I’ve known RetailData for 11 years, and it’s the only company I wanted to come work for,” Oliver said.

Retail Data has about 85 employees at its Staples Mill headquarters and another 750 employees across the country who collect pricing data in stores.

“It’s pretty important information. You can either move prices up, but 95 percent move down in order to respond,” Oliver explained. “Right now, the grocery sector is very price competitive, and stores are very aggressive to drive traffic.”

When asked about what he learned during the rough patch at S&K, Oliver said that for a company to turn around, everybody has to be on board with the goals.

“Where S&K started to have issues, the board and management were not aligned on the best direction,” he said. “I learned as CEO I have to be more cognizant of the board. I also learned to be more careful with banks and leverage. That was something that went way back to 2005 and 2006, and I wish the company had been more aggressive about trying to pay debt down.”

Oliver received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara and his MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

August 26, 2009 4:40 PM 0