Vera Bradley Names Angel Ilagan EVP, Chief Marketing Officer

FORT WAYNE, Ind., June 12, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vera Bradley, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRA) ("Vera Bradley" or the "Company") today announced that Angel Ilagan has been named Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer. He will join the Company on July 21, 2014.

Since 2010, Ilagan has served as Chief Marketing Officer/ Vice President, Marketing, Americas for Pandora Jewelry, where he oversees consumer advertising, promotions, marketing research, public relations, co-op advertising, web management, customer relationship management (CRM) and social media management. His additional global responsibilities at Pandora include branding, strategic marketing and e-commerce content. During his tenure at Pandora, execution of his comprehensive marketing plan has resulted in substantially increased brand awareness, meaningfully higher male gift purchasing, expanded customer reach, and higher customer satisfaction. Prior to Pandora, Ilagan held key marketing roles of increasing responsibility with several well-known consumer products companies including Newell Rubbermaid, Bristol-Myers Squibb, McCormick, Conagra and General Mills.

In this new position,  Ilagan will be responsible for leveraging the Vera Bradley brand and developing and executing marketing strategies and initiatives that will increase brand awareness and revenues across all of the Company's channels. 

Robert Wallstrom, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Angel comes to Vera Bradley with a terrific consumer products marketing background and has a 25-year track record of strategically driving growth through brand building and innovative marketing programs. As a Company, we have underinvested in marketing, so I am very excited that Angel will take us to the next level and create excitement around our brand and new product launches."   

Ilagan will be based in Fort Wayne and will report directly to Wallstrom.

About Vera Bradley, Inc.

Vera Bradley, Inc. is a leading designer of women's handbags and accessories, luggage and travel items, eyewear, stationery and gifts.  Founded in 1982 by friends Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller, the brand's iconic designs and versatile styles offer women of all ages a colorful way to accessorize.  Vera Bradley offers a unique, multi-channel sales model as well as a focus on service and a high level of engagement with fans.  Fiscal 2014 net revenues totaled approximately $536 million.  The Company's commitment to breast cancer research continues to increase its reach through the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer.  For more information about Vera Bradley (Nasdaq:VRA), visit www.verabradley.com/mediaroom.

Vera Bradley Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this release are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectations or beliefs concerning future events and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected, including: possible adverse changes in general economic conditions and their impact on consumer confidence and spending; possible inability to predict and respond in a timely manner to changes in consumer demand; possible loss of key management or design associates or inability to attract and retain the talent required for our business; possible inability to maintain and enhance our brand; possible inability to successfully implement our growth strategies or manage our growing business; possible inability to successfully open new stores as planned; and possible inability to sustain levels of comparable-store sales. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in our forward-looking statements, please refer to "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 1, 2014. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement. Financial schedules are attached to this release.

CONTACT: Investors:

         Julia Bentley, VP of Investor Relations and Communications

         jbentley@verabradley.com

         (260) 207-5116

         

         Media:

         877-708-VERA (8372)

         Mediacontact@verabradley.com