Dress Barn, Pier One, and Bodybuilding.com will be initial priorities, with Leite planning to make these brands more accessible to consumers by implementing an omnichannel approach.
“All of these brands, fortunately in my history, I've had the opportunity to either be a part of or lead, whether it's been being in the home category or being in apparel or obviously being
in sports nutrition with my role and my time at the Vitamin Shoppe. And so to be able to really understand and learn about the legacy of these brands and being able to cherish the heritage from where they have come from, it's going to be fun to have the opportunity to take these incredible brands that people have a real fondness for and position them for the future.”
Leite added that she is particularly excited about the opportunity to lead Bodybuilding.com, a brand she has admired for a long time. With a focus on quality, innovation, and expertise, Leite said she plans to redevelop products and rebuild relationships with manufacturers and vendors to bring the brand back to its former glory.
“I'm a big fan, as you know, of health and wellness and the importance of people's health, especially in a post-COVID world, I think that there's a lot of activity going along with all these weight loss drugs and there's an opportunity for health and wellness, sports nutrition, vitamin, minerals and supplements to play in in conjunction with that because there's real Evidence around the importance of looking at it in totality and I think Bodybuilding has a tremendous opportunity to really be and re-stake its place in the market.”
Leite isn’t the only former Vitamin Shoppe exec that Omni has scooped up. The company just named Steve Marada Head of Product Development and Merchandising Strategy for Bodybuilding.com. Marada served as Divisional Vice President – Private Brands at The Vitamin Shoppe. He will now head the rebuilding of Bodybuilding.com.
“Steve has a history of leading and executing strategic business plans that create and refresh health & wellness brands, which is exactly what Bodybuilding.com needs. Steve’s lifelong experience in this sector has uniquely equipped him with the necessary vision and expertise needed to bring the brand back to its rightful potential,” said Leite.
“I’ve had the opportunity to watch him in action while on my team at The Vitamin Shoppe and he clearly demonstrated his expertise in building innovative and high-quality products for consumers. His deep roots in manufacturing and commercialization will also deliver significant value, and I couldn’t be more excited to have Steve at the helm of Bodybuilding.com at this critical time in our company’s history.”
