Dive Brief:

• Pier 1 Imports Inc. announced Wednesday the appointment of Bhargav J. Shah as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, according to a company press release.

• Shah was formerly CIO and head of e-commerce at global supply chain management company IntegraCore and CIO and CTO at online retailer Overstock.com.
• Shah led IntegraCore's e-commerce initiative and built an online sales model for supply chain automation and logistics. At Overstock.com, Shah "increased data usage to automate and improve decision-making and drove customer centricity across devices and channels, resulting in improved customer engagement and cross-channel growth," according to the press release.

Dive Insight:

Once the darling of home décor, Pier 1 has struggled in recent years. One telling indicator is the 40% drop of company stock. And that is just since the beginning of this year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company has been taking a beating with a total stock fall of about 80% since 2013. Companies take notice of declines like this and then they take action. 

Shah has the credentials to elevate Pier 1's digital profile. Pier 1 President and Chief Executive Officer Alasdair James said in the press release that he looks forward to Shah's contributions around "more data-driven initiatives to fuel efficiency, sophistication and improved performance."

Like many companies, Pier 1 is looking to bolster its tech capabilities to better control expenses and improve sales. Shah appears to have the right combination of tech and retail skills to help the company accomplish those goals and drive automation and growth.