Portage Point Partners significantly enhanced its consumer retail practice with the addition of a team of executives that have helped transform global retail, 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,” said Matthew Ray, Founder & Managing Partner at Portage Point. “Our enhanced consumer retail group strengthens our service offerings in the retail sector exponentially and provides unparalleled guidance, management and expertise.”
Portage Point’s retail advisers will work with a wide 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’s team will work with retailers and stakeholders to navigate a wide spectrum of strategies, brand positioning, digitalization and e-commerce omnichannel technology, channel and commercial optimization as well as balance-sheet initiatives.
Portage Point’s consumer retail team has helped grow, transform and create value for some of the world’s best-known retail brands. Like other Portage Point service lines, the retail practice will be strategically minded, operationally focused and financially grounded, blending operational expertise with financial acumen that will drive impact across the income statement and balance sheet.
Tom 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 has also been COO at Belkin International, as well as its President of the Americas and of its global Linksys networking business unit.
Glenn McMahon brings 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 globally recognized consumer luxury brand, launched one of the first luxury brands online and expanded international markets. McMahon has also held key executive leadership positions with some of the most iconic companies in the fashion industry, including Giorgio Armani, Donna Karan, Liz Claiborne and Dolce & Gabanna.
Mike Feurer brings leadership, insight and expertise in aggressive growth and acquisition, as well as complex, troubled or 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 Inc.; and held President and Senior Vice President roles at Coldwater Creek; as well as leadership roles in Gap International’s expansion in Japan, the E.U. and Canada.
Gerry 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 the largest party-supplies retailer in the U.S. as a publicly held company with a current market cap of approximately $3 billion.