Robert Alderson, Kirkland’s, Inc. president and CEO, will retire at the end of fiscal 2013, the company has announced. Alderson has served with the retailer for 27 years.

“Over the past five years, we’ve restored Kirkland’s stability and significantly enhanced its profitability,” he said, in comments on his retirement. “We’ve also completed a huge amount of foundational work in systems, e-commerce, marketing, merchandising process, real estate and store operations. Over the course of the year, we will continue to work on substantially upgrading our merchandising talent and leadership. I have enjoyed the last 27 years at Kirkland’s, but now is the right time to begin recasting the leadership.”

Wilson Orr, Kirkland’s chairman, stated, “Robert is an exemplary leader and has given much of himself to Kirkland’s over the past three decades. We obviously respect his desire to step back at the end of the year and will work with him on planning for the appropriate leadership for the next phase of our growth.”