Melissa Worth Takes on New Role at Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
- David Moin
- Jan 21
- 2 min read
The specialty retailer has been installing regional managers to support growth internationally and coordinate effectively with the home office.
Melissa Worth Katie Jones
Melissa Worth, a former New Balance executive, has joined Abercrombie & Fitch as executive vice president and managing director for the Americas.
Worth will oversee both the A&F and Hollister brands across the Americas.
It’s a new role at the New Albany, Ohio-based Abercrombie & Fitch, reflecting the specialty retailer’s relatively recent initiative putting in place regional managers, internationally, to oversee store operations and presentations, sales, franchise agreements, talent and other areas, and to ensure brand consistency as well as help A&F adapt to regional preferences among customers. The company has a regional manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in London, and a regional manager in Shanghai for Asia Pacific, in addition to the Americas now.
In December, Worth left New Balance, where she served as senior vice president of the Americas. Before New Balance, she served as president of Perry Ellis Men’s. Earlier, she had jobs at TJX Cos. and Puma.
In a post Friday on LinkedIn, Worth wrote about her new job at A&F, stating, “I am incredibly impressed by the success these teams have achieved and the strength of these iconic brands around the world. The culture of this organization is inspiring — collaborative, inclusive, innovative and deeply committed to delivering exceptional experiences for our customers. I am excited to be part of the team and the next chapter of growth.”
The executive — who has championed female talent — joined New Balance in 2018 and led more than 2,000 employees in the brand’s largest region, overseeing key divisions including wholesale, retail, e-commerce, marketing, merchandising, operations and finance. She streamlined operations and delivered the brand’s high-heat products faster.
“I love change and the challenge of evolution and am always looking at ways our teams can improve,” she said in a 2024 FN interview. “Over my time at New Balance we have looked at the marketplace and our approach to it through this lens. By evolving how we go to market and how our initiatives are linked through our go-to-market process, key partners and the end consumer, we have been able to accelerate the growth of the brand across the Americas.”
At the WWD x FN x Beauty Inc. Women in Power event in September, Worth opened up about the company’s journey to become a formidable player in the women’s market.
“Not long ago, our consumer was older, male. We knew that as a brand, if we were to grow, we had to get younger and we had to get more female, so we started being very deliberate about some of the investments that we were making as a brand,” she said.
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