Portage Point Partners, a business advisory and interim management firm, added a team of executives to its retail practice, including managing directors Tom Park and Glenn McMahon and senior advisers Michael Feurer and Gerry Rittenberg.
“This is a defining moment for retail, and while there are unprecedented market forces impacting the industry, we are optimistic about the future of consumer retail and of individual retailers to grow and thrive amidst the change,” Matthew Ray, founder and managing partner at Portage Point Partners, said. “Our enhanced consumer retail group strengthens our service offerings in the retail sector exponentially and provides unparalleled guidance, management and expertise.”
Portage Point Partners’ retail advisers work with a range of retail companies, from startups entering a rapidly changing market to thriving companies seeking greater growth, margin expansion and competitive advantage, as well as companies experiencing transition or underperformance. Portage Point Partners’ retail team works with retailers and stakeholders to navigate a spectrum of strategies, brand positioning, digitalization and e-commerce omnichannel technology, channel and commercial optimization and balance-sheet initiatives.
Park’s 30-year leadership career includes transforming the Kenmore, Diehard and Craftsman brands as president at Sears Holdings and serving as CEO of Incipio Group. Park also held leadership positions at The Walt Disney Company for more than a decade, including serving as president of The Disney Store and heading several business units for Disney Consumer Products. Park also has been COO at Belkin International as well as its president of the Americas and of its global Linksys networking business unit.
McMahon has decades of experience in executive leadership with owner-founder-led companies and private equity partnerships. He has acted as a strategic adviser to retailers on digital transformation and channel-optimization strategies. As CEO of St. John Knits, he turned around the consumer luxury brand, launched a luxury brand online and expanded international markets. McMahon also has held executive leadership positions with companies in the fashion industry, including Giorgio Armani, Donna Karan, Liz Claiborne and Dolce & Gabanna.
Feurer brings leadership, insight and expertise in aggressive growth and acquisition as well as complex, troubled and transformation situations. His experience spans direct-to-consumer and technology-forward retail, as well as traditional brick-and-mortar brands, across hardlines, apparel and consumable categories. He has been CEO and director of Trans World Entertainment, CEO and president of Vanity, and held president and senior vice president roles at Coldwater Creek as well as leadership roles for Gap International’s expansion in Japan, the E.U. and Canada.
Rittenberg served as CEO of Party City for 17 years and has been a member of the company’s board of directors since 2012. He became its executive chairman in 2017. His career at Party City (formerly Amscan) began in 1989, and under his leadership, the company grew from revenue of just under $200 million to become a publicly held company with a current market cap of approximately $3 billion.
