Dive Brief:

• Lifestyle brand platform Solo Brands appointed Laura Coffey as its new CFO and tapped Michael McGoohan to serve in the newly created position of chief growth officer as part of an ongoing effort to revitalize flagging growth, the company announced Monday in a press release. Both appointments are effective immediately.
• Coffey, 57, will replace interim finance chief Andrea Tarbox, who took the seat on a temporary basis in December as Solo Brands commenced a search for a permanent financial leader, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Both appointments are the latest in a series of executive leadership shifts by Solo Brands as it looks to bolster revenue following disappointing sales. In early January, the company said it would “mutually separate” from its CEO and president of five years, John Merris, effective Jan. 15. The company appointed Vista Outdoor alum Chris Metz as its president and top executive also effective that same date.

Dive Insight:

The parent company of activewear brand Chubbies, air conditioner maker Icy Breeze and firepit maker Solo Stove and kayak creator Oru Kayak, Grapevine, Texas-based Solo Brands is reconstructing its leadership team after several rounds of departures with the hopes of fostering new growth.

As CFO, Coffey will receive a base salary of $500,000 and will also be eligible for an annual cash bonus with a target of 60% of her base salary and a maximum of 90% of her base, according to an SEC filing. She also received an initial grant of 250,000 restricted stock units and 250,000 performance stock units, subject to vesting conditions, according to the filing.

Prior to joining Solo Brands, Coffey served as CFO of health and wellness retailer The Vitamin Shoppe for three years, according to her LinkedIn profile. She served a 23-year span at retailer Pier 1, holding various roles including EVP, e-commerce and business development and EVP, merchandise planning and allocations, and currently serves as a board member and audit committee chair for the Community National Bank & Trust of Texas.

McGoohan, meanwhile, is moving to the newly-created chief growth officer position after serving as chief marketing officer for Central Garden & Pet, and has also held key executive roles for companies including Performance Health and Boston Consulting Group, according to the Monday press release.

Tarbox, a director at Solo, took on the interim CFO position following the resignation of previous finance chief Somer Webb who left to “pursue other opportunities,” according to company filings. The company engaged an executive search firm to find a successor for Webb while Tarbox slipped into the interim seat, still serving as a member of the board but pausing from her role on the company’s audit committee, according to an October press release. Webb’s departure was followed several months later by that of former CEO Merris; Coffey and McGoohan will assume their respective executive roles just about half a month after Metz moved into the CEO seat.

The newly-formed leadership team will take command of the company after it reported a disappointing fourth quarter; as well as naming Metz as CEO, Solo also reported that it would be reducing its revenue guidance for full-year 2023 in a January press release. The company now expects full-year revenue to be between $490 million and $500 million, compared to its previous guidance of between $520 million to $540 million.

Solo’s fourth-quarter results came in below expectations, with softer-than-expected numbers in its direct-to-consumer channel, Tarbox as interim CFO said in a statement included in the January announcement, partially due to lukewarm results related to key marketing campaigns such as a promotion with musician Snoop Dogg for its Solo Stove brand.

“While our unique marketing campaigns raised brand awareness of Solo Stove to an expanded and new audience of consumers, it did not lead to the sales lift that we had planned, which, combined with the increased marketing investments, negatively impacted our EBITDA,” Tarbox said.

The company reported strong results for its third quarter ending Sept. 30, with net income of  $3.1 million, a 176.7% increase from the prior year period. Solo is expected to report its fourth quarter and full-year 2023 results in March, it said in its January update.

Solo Brands did not immediately respond to requests for comment.