Francine Klein Retiring After 40 Years at Bloomingdale’s

Francine Klein, Bloomingdale’s executive vice president and general merchandise manager for handbags, shoes, fine jewelry, fashion accessories and beauty and a 40-year veteran of the store, will retire on Feb. 28. Klein was instrumental in Bloomingdale’s strategy to strengthen its luxury appeal by introducing many designer labels, brands and concepts to the mix, and reimagining selling space across several departments being elevated through renovations. A decade ago, she led the conversion of jewelry at Bloomingdale’s from a leased business to an owned business, and under her leadership, a recast beauty floor at the 59th Street flagship was unveiled in December 2018. The beauty floor featured 75 brands new to the space, several new experiences and services including a dry bar, nail salon and stylists selling “agnostically,” and with an easier to navigate floor plan. Earlier that year at the flagship, a re-imagined footwear floor, saturated with color and whimsy and doubling down on what the store considers its sweet spot — the designer and contemporary zones — was unveiled. Among the jewelry brands she brought to Bloomingdale’s were David Yurman, Temple St. Clair and Pomellato. In watches, she introduced Longines, and helped grow the Tag Heuer business among other changes. In luxury leather goods,

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