PEOPLE : Robinson’s Appoints New Chairman

The Robinson’s department store chain is getting a new No. 2 executive.

May Department Stores, the corporate parent of Robinson’s, announced Wednesday that Kenneth L. Wilkerson will become chairman of the Los Angeles-based division on April 1. Wilkerson, 50, currently holds the same title at May’s Famous-Barr chain in St. Louis, where he has worked for 20 years.

Wilkerson will replace Elden Rasmussen, 67, who is retiring.

Analysts said they expect no major changes as a result of the appointment. Wilkerson will report to Robinson’s current president and chief executive, Robert L. Mettler.

Mettler will continue to direct the chain’s merchandising and advertising while Wilkerson will assume responsibility for such duties as finance, personnel and distribution.

Robinson’s appears to have lost market share in Southern California recently to other department stores. A spokesman for St. Louis-based May declined to comment, however, on whether Wilkerson was brought in from another division as a result of that trend.

Wilkerson, a graduate of Southern Illinois University, rose through the ranks at Famous Barr and has been its chairman since 1985.

Rasmussen, who has been with May for 36 years, joined Robinson’s as its chairman in 1987. Before then, he was chairman of its Kaufmann’s division in Pittsburgh.

In its 1988 fiscal year, Robinson’s had sales of $720 million, about $210 million than Famous-Barr. Robinson’s has 24 stores in Southern California and five in Arizona.