Megan Gillum Leads Malley’s Chocolates As The Company’s First Non-Family President

Cleveland’s beloved Malley’s Chocolates celebrates its 90th anniversary this year — and it’s doing that with a new leader in charge.

Megan Gillum took over as the company’s first non-Malley-family president in February, after joining the company last year as its Vice President of Retail Strategy and Operations. Since becoming president, she has hit the ground running, incorporating new ideas, products and designs into the storied brand’s footprint in Northeast Ohio. Her projects have been backend improvements, product development, trendy drink menus and store facelifts.

We caught up with Gillum at Malley’s flagship store in Lakewood, which recently reopened following a redesign.

Cleveland Magazine: You're the first non-Malley's family member to be the president of the company. What’s it like to take on that position in such an iconic brand?

Megan Gillum: It is a dream job; chocolate, Cleveland-based. But obviously big shoes to fill. The Malley's family created such a brand and a following here in Cleveland, and I'm just really humbled and honored to be in this spot. 

CM: I’d love to hear more about your background. You previously worked at American Greetings. Did you grow up in Northeast Ohio?

MG: Yeah, I've run back to Cleveland twice because I love it so much. So I was here as a kid, then I went away for high school and college, came back here on my own. We were here when I met and married my husband. We had three kids here, and then his job took us to Texas, and our first chance we got to come back, we did, in 2020. Cleveland is in both of our hearts, and Cleveland is home.

CM: Where do you live today?

MG: We live in Rocky River. It’s so walkable, especially after being in Texas. We love the proximity to the lake and the Metroparks, both of which we love to visit regularly, and just the small town of it.

CM: You’ve been with Malley’s for a year. You’ve been in the president role since February. Could you speak a little bit to some of your notable projects or shifts that you’ve overseen?

MG: One of the first things we did under my leadership was change POS (point-of-sale) systems in our stores, which allows us to really speed up transactions and make things easier for our retail staff to check people out, which means then they can focus on really delighting our customers. That was one of my first major achievements. This store (Lakewood) is also one of them. Just doing this refresh and being in charge of the flagship redesign has been a huge project as well.

We've continued to hire great talent from the local area, so that has been another thing that I've been really focused on, and building up the team. I feel like we've done so much in such a little time.

CM: The dirty sodas were one big thing, too.

MG: We have brought new products out to retail. So our advent calendars, our ornaments, dirty sodas — we're just trying to find ways that people are already celebrating and join in on that, right? People are already doing the dirty soda thing. I was like, that's a no-brainer. We can do that, too. People are celebrating Christmas Advent. Those are things that we can participate in in meaningful ways. So why don’t we just really listen to what our customers are celebrating, even the space? It's been used for birthday parties for a long time, but we were hearing that people were celebrating many milestones. I know they were getting together with their book clubs, they were celebrating these mini moments. And we wanted people to think about this space as it related to that, too.

CM: In the Lakewood store, there’s a big shift. I’m sure there will be some people who are sad to see the old design go. Could you speak a little bit more to that, the legacy there and the shift that you’re going for?

MG: We know that there will be some people who are sad, but that is because Malley’s means so much to the community in terms of the moments that are shared here. So while people are passionate about those moments, we know that they will be just as excited about the new Malley’s moments that they can create in this space. We really wanted to refresh in a way that, for future generations, this would become the familiar thing to them.

CM: Do you anticipate doing bigger design changes in other stores? The North Olmsted store is pretty classic, too.

MG: It is, and people are very sensitive about the carousel. It's not going anywhere. It is not. But I think we do these refreshes when things need them. So this store, for example, needed some bathroom updates and needed some new flooring. We thought in the flagship store for our 90th year, let's do that. We will do things when they make sense. Our Avon store got a mini refresh, but it was because water had come into the store, and so we took the opportunity to refresh it at that time, too.

CM: You're pretty new to this role. What ideas do you have for the future? What are your hopes and goals for Malley’s?

MG: Well, obviously preserving heritage and legacy and tradition, but also growth. Earlier this year, we expanded to be in Heinen’s. Being in that wholesale channel, where people are already grocery shopping, that is something that means a lot to us, and we will continue to grow in that way, finding new products that really align with how people are celebrating, and yet, while still keeping the Malley’s classics alive and true.

CM: What’s your favorite Malley’s chocolate?

MG: It’s a hard thing. But I will say, anything with our chocolate and peanut butter, that combination. Peanut butter truffles. Chocolate and peanut butter all day long.