|
Levenger appoints retail veteran Ed Howell as company president
 DELRAY BEACH, FL · August 21, 2007–Ed Howell, formerly the senior vice president of LL Bean and a 30-year veteran of multi-channel retailing, has been appointed president of Levenger, a privately-held retailer whose sales channels span catalog, Web and bricks-and-mortar stores. The family-owned company marks its twentieth year this October.
"Levenger has reached the next significant growth stage in its evolution, what we’re calling Levenger 2.0, and Ed is the ideal leader to help us realize its potential," says Steve Leveen, the CEO and co-founder with his wife, Lori Granger Leveen, of Levenger.
Howell’s most recent post before coming to Levenger was as Chief Retail Officer and Senior Vice President of the legendary LL Bean company in Freeport, Maine, where he led the company’s retail expansion and created the successful brand extension of LL Kids.
Before that he served as president of Sorel Inc., a wholesale unit of the Columbia Sportswear Company. He also led the expansion of Eastern Mountain Sports, a New Hampshire-based retailer of outdoor gear, where he served as CEO and president.
A native of New Jersey, Howell began his career as a buyer for R.H. Macy & Company, moving up the ranks to a vice president of merchandising. He is known in the industry for his skill in translating vision into profitable action.
"The great attraction of Levenger is not only the quality of product but the steadfastness of its brand," says Howell. "The company has a distinctive look and voice that stand out in the marketplace. We’ll be looking at the many opportunities for leveraging this and making Levenger a well-known brand for a broader base of people."
Headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, Levenger was the first company in America to design products specifically with readers in mind. It became known for its catalog of "Tools for Serious Readers." The company has evolved into an upmarket retailer of specialty products designed for reading, writing and working with ideas.
Levenger offers a proprietary product line whose "from the inside out" philosophy emphasizes functionality as well as luxury. The company designs and sells custom notebooks, fine pads and papers, leather folios and bags, pens and inks, workspace organizers and specialty books.
Levenger owns and operates stores in Boston, Chicago (two locations) and the Washington, D.C., area. Its flagship store moves from Delray Beach to Boca Raton, Florida, this October. An outlet store is in Memphis, where the company’s distribution center is located. The Levenger Webstore is at Levenger.com.
*****
| 
