Blair president/CEO to retire

Multichannel merchant Blair Corp.'s president/CEO John Zawacki will retire from the company and resign from its board next year.

Mr. Zawacki has served as president/CEO since December 1999 and has spent 34 years with the company. His last day will be April 1, 2007.

Blair's chief operating officer and chief financial officer Adelmo S. Lopez has been appointed to the position of executive vice president and will be directly responsible for all operations within the company.

In October, Warren, PA-based Blair said net sales for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 decreased 8.6 percent for a total of $89.5 million. The multichannel direct marketer of women's and men's apparel also reported a net loss of $1.1 million, or $0.30 per basic and diluted share, during the same period compared to net income of $1.4 million, or $0.23 per basic and diluted share reported for the third quarter of 2005.