Harry Cunningham joins Vera Bradley as head of store development

Industry icon Harry Cunningham is joining Vera Bradley as Head of Store Development effective December 8, 2014. Cunningham has nearly 25 years of experience in store design and visual merchandising. He has been with Saks Fifth Avenue since 2006 and most recently held the post of Senior Vice President of Store Planning, Design and Visual Merchandising. Prior to that, Cunningham held various visual merchandising roles of increasing responsibility with Liz Claiborne, Saks Department Store Group and Dillard's.

On his appointment, Robert Wallstrom, Chief Executive Officer of Vera Bradley, said, “As we continue transforming Vera Bradley into a premium global lifestyle brand, store presentation and site selection will become even more critical to our brand and to the success of our business. Harry will be charged with developing and implementing innovative visual and store merchandising design for our own stores as well as our department store partners, overseeing new store construction and remodels and working on site selection for new Vera Bradley stores.”

During his time at Saks Fifth Avenue, Cunningham was instrumental in the re-launch of the company's award-winning men's stores in Beverly Hills and Chicago and in the design of Saks' full-line department store in Sarasota, Florida, the company's first fully-reimagined store in nine years. While at Saks, he also developed the luxury retailer's award-winning fashion windows and legendary holiday displays and launched new designs for the company's signature designer and contemporary businesses. Cunningham also was responsible for developing the revolutionary store design that was instrumental in positioning the Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH brand for growth.

Cunningham has won numerous industry awards including Design: Retail Magazine's prestigious Markopoulos Award in 2014. He was also recognized by the publication as a ‘Retail Design Luminary’ in 2012 and as a ‘Retail Design Influencer’ in 2011, 2013 and 2014. Cunningham is also serving on the board of directors of PAVE (The Planning and Visual Education Partnership).