Palmetto Moon Names John Pennell Company President
June 23, 2014
CHARLESTON, SC – Robert Webster, Chairman and CEO of Palmetto Moon, announced today that John Pennell has been promoted from Director of Stores to President of the nine store South Carolina retail chain. This promotion follows the announcement of former company president, Eric Holzer’s relocation to Houston, TX. As the new company president, Pennell will oversee all company operations including merchandising, marketing, purchasing, and development while reporting to CEO Robert Webster. Holzer remains as a Senior Level Consultant for Palmetto Moon. Palmetto Moon remains a privately held, family operated company founded by Karen and Robert Webster in 2002.
“I’ve known John for 20 years and we recruited him to join Palmetto Moon three years ago to help with the company’s expansion throughout South Carolina. Since then he has traveled to all the stores weekly and really elevated our merchandising to give all of the stores a branded uniformity,” said Webster. “With John’s commitment to the company, his honorable leadership and his extensive retail background, it made it an easy decision to promote him to Company President.”
Pennell said, “It has been a great experience over the past few years working with such an incredible team and family here at Palmetto Moon. With the continual developments, including the addition of our brand new Columbia store and expansion of our current Myrtle Beach store, it is an honor to be President of the company in this great time of development.”
Pennell brings more than 40 years of retail experience in merchandising, management and buying. From 1974 to 1990 Pennell worked at J.B. Ivey and Company based in Charlotte, NC. He worked his way up from the Men’s Buyer, to Divisional Merchandising Manager for Men’s, Young Men’s and Boys, and not long after Senior Vice President and General Merchandising Manager.
After his 16 year stint at J.B. Ivey and Company, Pennell stayed in Charlotte and began to work for one of the nation’s largest family-owned and operated department store companies, Belk. From 1990-2000 Pennell’s responsibilities started as the Senior Vice President and General Merchandising Manager of men’s young men’s’ children’s, juniors, intimate apparel and home departments for the entire company. He reported directly to Tim and Tom Belk as he worked his way up the ladder as Executive Vice President, then President/Managing Partner, and finally the President of Merchandising for the company’s Central Division. His expertise landed him the position as Senior Vice President/General Merchandising Manager for Stein Mart’s 264 stores in 31 states from 2001-2011, headquartered in Jacksonville, FL.
About Palmetto Moon
Palmetto Moon is a regional specialty gift and South Carolina lifestyle apparel retail chain with corporate headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina. Palmetto Moon takes pride in being a fun, energetic store that has a relentless focus on customer service. Its stores carry countless affordable gifts and a wide selection of collegiate gear and lifestyle brands including Guy Harvey, Tervis, Salt Life, Crocs, Costa, Columbia, Yeti, Southern Marsh, Ray-Ban and more. Palmetto Moon has nine locations throughout South Carolina in Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Summerville, Florence, Myrtle Beach, Bluffton, Greenville and Columbia. Palmetto Moon has been voted “Best Collegiate Store” and “Best Gift Store” in Charleston for four consecutive years (Charleston City Paper 2011 – 2014). For more information, visit www.palmettomoononline.com.
