Dive Brief:
- Grove Collaborative on Monday announced co-founder Stuart Landesberg will step down from the CEO position, effective Wednesday.
- Succeeding Landesberg as CEO is Jeff Yurcisin, the former chief executive officer at Zulily and Shopbop. Yurcisin also joined Grove’s board of directors.
- Landesberg will transition to the executive chairman role on the company’s board. He will continue to oversee strategy, capital markets and corporate development.
Dive Insight:
The company credited the CEO transition as a move to align Grove Collaborative “more closely with future growth and market expansion initiatives.”
“Over the last decade, we have built and scaled a market leading brand in zero plastic and zero plastic waste, a breakthrough for the category, and helped millions of families live healthier and more sustainable lives,” Landesberg said in a statement. “I could not be more excited to welcome Jeff, an experienced, brilliant and customer-centric leader to Grove and as Grove’s next CEO. He will be terrific at the helm, as Grove continues to push towards greater sustainable growth and impact.”
Landesberg has led Grove Collaborative for more than a decade after co-founding the company in 2012. But like several other DTC brands, the company is ushering in fresh talent with the experience needed to grow the brand down the line. In 2021, Casper’s co-founder Philip Krim stepped down as chief executive as the company announced it would be acquired by private equity firm Durational Capital Management. Last year, both Glossier founder Emily Weiss and Lively founder Michelle Cordeiro Grant exited the CEO post. And more recently, Brooklinen’s co-founder last month left the CEO role.
As CEO, Yurcisin will be tasked with driving profitable growth through product innovation, market expansion initiatives and finding new opportunities. Aside from serving as CEO at both Zulily and Shopbop, Yurcisin has experience serving in multiple senior executive roles at Amazon, leading the e-commerce giant’s global efforts on private brands and apparel. He was responsible for the end-to-end product development and performance of Amazon’s private labels.
Grove Collaborative has experienced falling sales in recent months as it continues to report losses. Just months after going public, the company late last year received a delisting notice from the New York Stock Exchange for falling out of compliance with its continued listing requirements as it relates to average share price. Grove refinanced its debt in December with a $72 million four-year term loan that the company said will help push it toward profitability, something it hopes to reach by next year.
The CEO transition came as the sustainability-focused retailer reported second-quarter net revenue fell 16.6% year over year to $66.1 million, largely attributable to a pullback in advertising spend as it works to reach profitability. Grove’s operating loss narrowed to $9.6 million from $42.8 million last year, while net loss was $10.9 million from $35.3 million in the year-ago period.
The company also announced a $10 million investment from growth equity firm Volition Capital, which will be used for general corporate expenses, growth opportunities and possibly stock buybacks. As part of the deal, Volition’s Managing Partner and co-founder Larry Cheng is joining Grove’s board.
