HSN hires new Cornerstone president

St. Petersburg — Multichannel retailer HSN Inc. has named Jeffrey Kuster as president of Cornerstone and executive officer of HSNi. He will report directly to HSNi CEO Mindy Grossman.

Kuster, 48, has held various leadership positions in the apparel, fashion and retail industries, most recently as executive vice president, chief marketing and strategy officer for Berkshire Hathaway's Fruit of the Loom. He managed a portfolio of brands including Fruit of the Loom, Vanity Fair, Spalding, and Russell Athletic.

Earlier, Kuster served as the company's CEO for EMEA and India, which followed four years as president of Vanity Fair Brands Europe. Before that, he was with VF Corp. after spending four years at McKinsey & Co. From 1988 to 1995, he served at the World Bank, Doctors without Borders, the Bureau of Labor Statistic and The Peace Corps.

In his new role as president of Cornerstone Brands, Kuster will assume responsibility for HSNi's portfolio of home and apparel lifestyle brands, including Frontgate, Ballard Designs, Garnet Hill, Grandin Road, Chasing Fireflies, Improvements, and TravelSmith. He is also charged with managing the strategic vision, growth and Cornerstone's expanding digital presence.

Cornerstone is a direct-to-consumer business that distributes more than 320 million catalogs annually and operates eight ecommerce sites and 11 retail stores.