A new era of CAMP has begun as the company works to streamline its business.
This week, CAMP Founder Ben Kaufman took to LinkedIn to announce that he has stepped down as CEO of the “mass specialty” experiential retailer as Karen Cate and Jenica Myszkowski take the reins as Co-CEOs.
“Happily, I will continue to be fully engaged at CAMP overseeing all creative and partnerships as well as maintaining my seat on CAMP’s Board Of Directors. I’ll simply be calling myself ‘Camp Counselor,’ Kaufman wrote. “With our new leadership in place, I’ll be able to focus on what I do best while the company’s complex operations are led by experienced executives who make far fewer fart jokes than I do.”
Myszkowski, who previously held roles at Barnes & Noble/Paper Source, Kate Spade New York, and Bebe, joined CAMP last year as President. Cate joined the company in January as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer after serving in various roles for Thrive Market, TOMS, Trader Joe’s, and other retailers.
CAMP is opening its first store in Atlanta this week alongside the debut of its new themed experience inspired by Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Additionally, CAMP partnered with Walmart and The Walt Disney Co. for a shoppable musical live stream “full of gadgets, whozits, and thingamabobs” with a special appearance from Halle Bailey. The event will take place on Friday, June 2 at 6 p.m. ET via Walmart’s website and social channels.
Earlier this year, CAMP allegedly found itself caught up in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank prompting a weekend fire sale that led to the biggest single-day sales record in company history.
While additional new stores, including a location in Chicago, are in the planning stages, CAMP quietly closed two of its locations with its outposts at Hudson Yards in New York City and Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey having packed up their tents.
The New Jersey location holds the dubious distinction of being the location of three different toy stores over the past three years. The site first housed one of the two, failed Toys “R” Us concept stores with b8ta, then played host to Toys & Beyond (sparking a lawsuit from Toys “R” Us), and then became CAMP in Oct. 2021. Kingsmen Xperience is next up to bring toyetic family entertainment to the Garden State Plaza with themed experiences based on NERF and Playskool set to open later this year.
CAMP recently launched a house brand of wooden toys and held a celebrity book reading with Channing Tatum in New York City this week.
