Emilia Fabricant, who last week left her post as president of Bebe Stores Inc., has been appointed Executive Vice President of the Aeropostale brand. She will be responsible for all aspects of design, merchandising and production for the brand, and will report to Thomas P. Johnson, Chief Executive Officer.

“We are thrilled to have someone of Emilia’s caliber and talent join the Aeropostale team. Emilia has a proven track record of creating and executing the type of merchandise and operating strategies that will enable us to continue to evolve our brand, Emilia will be an incredible asset to our organization, and we look forward to her many contributions to our business.” Johnson said Wednesday.

“Aéropostale presents an incredible opportunity for me to join one of the most highly respected and highly productive specialty retail brands in the market,” Fabricant said.

Fabricant most recently served as President of Bebe Stores. Prior to that, she was President and Chief Merchandising Officer of Charlotte Russe Inc. Earlier in her career, she founded Cadeau Maternity, also serving as its President and Chief Merchandising Officer, after the company was acquired by eStyle. Fabricant began her merchandising career with Barneys New York, where she worked in the Co-op division and held executive positions of increasing responsibility, rising to Senior Vice President, Divisional Merchandise Manager and Outlet Division.

Aéropostale specializes in casual apparel and accessories, primarily for 14- to 17-year-old women and men through its Aéropostale stores and Web site. It also targets 4- to 12-year-old kids through its P.S. from Aéropostale division. The company currently operates 915 Aeropostale stores in 50 states and Puerto Rico, 75 Aeropostale stores in Canada and 97 P.S. from Aeropostale stores in 21 states. In addition, its licensees operate 20 Aeropostale and P.S. from Aeropostale stores in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Teen sportswear retailer Pacific Sunwear of California has promoted Alfred Chang to vice president of men’s merchandising and design.

He succeeds senior vice president of men’s merchandising Charlie Mescher, who has resigned. Chang, who has been with the company since 2006, most recently served as vice president of men’s merchandising.

“Alfred is a strong merchant and one of our rising talents, with a deep passion for brands, fashion and California Lifestyle,” said Gary Schoenfeld, president and CEO of Pacific Sunwear. “Brands are once again the cornerstone of our men’s business. I look forward to working closely with Alfred and the rest of our men’s team to further PacSun’s brand relationships and continue to build upon our 30-year heritage.”

Stuart Weitzman, a division of The Jones Group, has promoted Wayne Kulkin to the newly-created role of vice chairman, as part of the company’s wider expansion plans. The former president of the apparel group will continue to report to executive chairman Stuart Weitzman in his new role.

“Wayne has been a true partner over the last 22 years,” Weitzman, executive chairman for his namesake brand, said in a statement. “His passion and creativity have contributed to consistent improvement and growth, year after year. I have the utmost confidence that Wayne is the right person to help manage our development and growth strategy.”

And this is the first of more shifts to come for the brand, the company said as part of a growth initiative it intends to execute its plans of international growth in retail, wholesale and e-commerce along with product extensions.

Additional executive roles, including global president, will be created as part of the company’s planned expansion. Weitzman is currently searching for a new global president to report to Kulkin. The search is being conducted by Kirk Palmer & Associates.

Value retailer Ross Stores Inc has revealed vice chairman and CEO Michael Balmuth has had his employment agreement extended through to May 2016, when he will become chairman as part of the company’s management succession plan.

Under the arrangement, Balmuth will serve as CEO until 1 June 2014, when he will become executive chairman. At the same time, the Board expects to elect a new CEO from its senior executives itself.

Balmuth said: “The board and I firmly believe this type of management transition will allow us to remain focused on executing the strategies that have been key to our outstanding financial results over the past several years. We are also confident this succession plan will help us continue to maximise future stockholder returns.”

The company also announced that Board Chairman Norman Ferber will become Chairman Emeritus in June 2014, with his current consulting responsibilities to remain unchanged.