Nordstrom Promotes Sam Lobban to Senior Merchandising Position

Nordstrom has promoted Sam Lobban to a new merchandising leadership position.

Lobban will now serve as EVP/GMM supporting women’s apparel, men’s apparel and all designer categories. In this role, he will support product strategy and vision across these core categories, Nordstrom said in a statement. Lobban most recently served as SVP of designer and New Concepts, a role he’s held since 2020.

“We have a lot of confidence in Sam and are fortunate to have him on our team,” said Pete Nordstrom, president and chief brand officer. “He is a strong merchant and approaches the business from a customer-first mindset.  This new role is a great opportunity for him and the team he supports.”

Lobban started his retail career on the sales floor at Selfridges, where he was promoted to various merchant roles before joining Mr. Porter, where he led the designer capsule collection strategy for the retailer. In June 2018, he joined Nordstrom as the VP of men’s fashion to support merchandising and work with its teams on marketing, content development, store environment and the shopping experience for menswear through the New Concepts@Nordstrom pop-up shop program.

During his tenure at Nordstrom, Lobban launched 17 New Concept shops, including Dior, Fear of God, Black_Space, Union, Noah and Thom Browne. He was promoted to SVP of designer and New Concepts in 2020, leading all designer merchandising strategies and campaign creative across men’s, women’s and children’s categories.

“Sam is an innovative merchant with strong creative and strategic vision, deep industry experience and meaningful connections,” added Teri Bariquit, chief merchandising officer at Nordstrom. “We are excited for Sam to carry forward his strategic approach in designer to men’s and women’s apparel as we aim to deliver the most relevant products to our customers.”

This promotion comes just weeks after the retailer made two other executive changes. In July, Nordstrom promoted Deniz Anders to SVP and chief marketing officer and hired Dick’s Sporting Goods executive Nina Barjesteh as president of its private label group.