Gary H Schoenfeld

Teen specialty retailer Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. named former Vans Inc. CEO Gary H. Schoenfeld to its chief executive post Wednesday. Schoenfeld succeeds Sally Frame Kasaks, who has served as CEO of the Anaheim retailer since 2006 and as board chairwoman since 2007. Pacific Sunwear said Kasaks wasn't pushed out from the top job and would remain a director. Schoenfeld, 46, will take over as chief executive June 29, the company said.

Teen specialty retailer Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. named former Vans Inc. CEO Gary H. Schoenfeld to its chief executive post Wednesday. Schoenfeld succeeds Sally Frame Kasaks, who has served as CEO of the Anaheim retailer since 2006 and as board chairwoman since 2007. Pacific Sunwear said Kasaks wasn't pushed out from the top job and would remain a director. Schoenfeld, 46, will take over as chief executive June 29, the company said.

Vans Inc. said Thursday that it has named two new directors to the casual footwear company's board. The new board members are Gary H. Schoenfeld, 32, who recently was appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer, and Lisa M. Douglas, 35, president of Nufitness Corp., a Los Angeles-based company that produces fitness-related television, audio-visual aids and wellness programs. Schoenfeld is the son of Vans' president and chief executive officer, Walter E. Schoenfeld.

Gary H. Schoenfeld, 32, has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer at Vans Inc., the Orange-based shoe manufacturer. Before joining Vans, Schoenfeld was a partner with McCown De Leeuw & Co., a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm that is Vans' largest stockholder. Schoenfeld, the son of Vans President and Chief Executive Officer Walter E. Schoenfeld, 64, has been involved in Vans' strategic planning since 1989, the company said.

Completing its pullout from Orange County, Vans Inc. said Monday it has leased its facilities in Orange and will relocate its headquarters and distribution center to Santa Fe Springs next spring. The sneaker maker, which was founded in Orange County in 1966, had employed as many as 2,000 workers in Orange at one time.

Footwear maker Vans Inc., seeking to capitalize on its successful skateboard parks in such malls as the Block at Orange, is hoping to establish more of these facilities in place of closed cinemas and department stores. The Santa Fe Springs company, which makes trendy boots, shoes and sneakers, struck pay dirt in late 1998 when it began building skateboard parks with shopping mall developers.

Bringing an end to its manufacturing history in California, Vans Inc. said Wednesday it will close its shoe factory in Vista and fire 300 workers. The closure is the latest step in a three-year restructuring in which the maker of trendy footwear has emphasized marketing over manufacturing. Founded in Orange in 1966, Vans closed its manufacturing plant in the city in 1995, and laid off about 1,000 workers. The following year it moved its headquarters to Santa Fe Springs.

Shoemaker Vans Inc., which has been struggling to improve both its products and the financial performance of its indoor skate parks, said Wednesday that earnings plunged 52% in its fiscal first quarter as sales of its women's shoes dropped 40%. Still, the Santa Fe Springs-based company managed to beat Wall Street's already lowered expectations by a nickel. In the first quarter ended Aug. 31, profit was $5.4 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with $11.

Driven by the boom in skateboarding, shoemaker Vans Inc. and teen apparel retailer Pacific Sunwear of California said Monday that they are teaming up to make and sell a line of Vans skate-inspired clothing. The venture between the two Southland companies weds one of the biggest names in the fast-growing skateboard industry with one of the hottest and biggest retailers to teens. Both companies target hard-to-please but eager-to-spend customers who are as fickle as they are hip.