Lids has promoted Nick Corthier to Chief Financial Officer, the leading sports retailer announced today. Corthier’s experience with Lids began over 20 years ago when he first joined the retailer in the store – within the home state of Lids headquarters – as a sales associate in 2000, a role he held throughout his high school and early college years. After graduating from Indiana University, Corthier began his career in finance at Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he held several public accounting roles with the company over eight years in both Indianapolis and London. Corthier returned to Lids in 2013 as the retailer’s Director of Finance where he continued to climb the ranks in the company’s finance team. Corthier was previously Lids’ Senior Vice President of Finance, a role he had held since 2019.
“Over the past two years Nick has been an integral part of the Lids turnaround. Nick’s leadership has transformed our Finance, HR, and Loss Prevention teams into offensive assets that have helped drive Lids into one of the strongest retailers in North America,” said Tom Ripley, Lids Chairman & CEO. “We are thrilled to see Nick take the next step in his career and to leverage his abilities across Lids and our multiple growth initiatives.”
Since his return to Lids eight years ago, Corthier’s role has included the divestiture of Lids from Genesco during the Ames Watson acquisition in 2019, implementation of Microsoft D365 Finance, Commerce and Operations, and leading the transition of Lids finance to a more operational function of the business. Corthier has also played a key role in the brand’s financial and treasury health throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and its widespread effect on the retail community.
“I have been very fortunate throughout my career at Lids to have influential mentors, hardworking team members, and motivating peers. The atmosphere and culture at Lids are unparalleled,” says Corthier. “We are focused on continuing to grow our business with a team I’m incredibly proud to be a part of.”
In this new role, Corthier will lead long range forecasting and analysis of company results on key business decisions. In addition to overseeing all financial reporting, treasury, loss prevention, IT, and human resources, Corthier will be actively involved with store operations, real estate, marketing, and buying and merchandising on key business activities.
Lids is the largest headwear retailer in North America, with over 28 million sold per year across their 1,200 locations. Beyond hats, Lids is the largest brick and mortar retailer of licensed sports product in North America and has a fast-growing non-sports branded business. The announcement of Corthier’s promotion follows a breakout year for Lids that saw the company add 70 stores during the COVID pandemic, cement an international expansion agreement with the NBA, and enter into a long-term commercial agreement with Barnes & Noble Education.
