Branding and retail marketing agency Theory House has appointed Christopher Durham VP of retail brands.
Durham joins the Charlotte, N.C.-based company with more than 20 years of experience developing and managing brands both at the retail level and as a consultant, including work for Office Depot, Best Buy, Food Lion, Hannaford and Lowe’s Home Improvement. He is the creator of the My Private Brand website (mypbrand), where he challenges retailers to evolve their traditional private labels into consumer-focused brands.
“Theory House is poised to take our next step in becoming the preeminent retail branding firm, and Christopher’s expertise and passion for building private brands aligns perfectly with our vision,” said Jim Cusson, president of Theory House. “His retail and store brand knowledge is well respected throughout the industry, and the strategic skills he brings to the table round out our agency’s offerings, deepening our ability to help our client’s brands thrive.”
In addition to My Private Brand, Durham is the author of the recent in-depth analysis of Walmart’s private brand portfolio, “MPB Sightline: The 2013 Walmart Private Brand Portfolio.” On March 10 he will release “Fifty2: The My Private Brand Project,” a book that provides a year-long analysis of the best private brands in the U.S. across all retail channels.
Durham brings a mix of experience to Theory House, having worked as a consultant, strategist and retailer in building billion-dollar brands. While at Lowe’s Home Improvement, he developed and implemented brand strategies for its portfolio of private brands, including Blue Hawk, Style Selections, Project Source, Harbor Breeze and allen+roth. Prior to Lowe’s, Durham served as a brand manager at Delhaize, where he created and delivered retail brand marketing as well as private brand strategy and development for Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar and Harvey’s.
“Theory House delivers tremendous strategic thinking and effective design to its clients. I’m looking forward to bolstering the team’s ability to help retailers develop and grow what I believe is one of their most underutilized assets—their private brand portfolio,” said Durham. “Together we will provide world-class strategy, branding, design and execution by creating compelling, differentiated and profitable retail brands.”
