People
- Meenakshi Kumar |
B S Nagesh, the founder of the Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India has joined Shop X. In addition he is one of the pioneers of modern retail format in India and has more than 35 years of experience in the consumer and retail sector. As an advisor to Shop X, he will guide the leadership team in understanding the dynamics of general trade and modern trade ecosystem to improve the earnings and profitability of Shop X retail partners.
He has been associated with Shoppers Stop and was the first Asian retailer and the only Indian retailer to be inducted into the World Retail Hall of Fame at the World Retail Congress conducted in Barcelona in 2008. During his tenure at Shoppers Stop he was bestowed with innumerable awards and accolades.
He is expected to play a pivotal role at Shop X by adding significant value to its growth and strengthening its business capabilities and help it be even more focused on the needs of its retail partners.
Shop X is a start-up that has disrupted India’s retail ecosystem. Shop X’s digital offline model enhances the shopping experience for consumers in Tier II and III towns of India. Small retailers can use technology to benefit their businesses and at the same time give their customers access to a wide range of products across categories.
- Prachi Singh |
Ralph Lauren Corporation has appointed Patrice Louvet as President and Chief Executive Officer effective July 17, 2017, at which time, he will also be appointed to the Ralph Lauren Corporation Board of Directors. Louvet will dual report to Ralph Lauren in his capacity as Executive Chairman of the Board and to the company’s Board of Directors.
“Finding the right partner to work with me to take us forward in our evolution has been my primary focus over the last several months and I am thrilled that Patrice is joining our talented team. He’s an enormously skilled business leader with a deep passion for the consumer and a sophisticated understanding of building global brands,” said Ralph Lauren, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer in a company announcement.
Patrice Louvet appointed CEO of Ralph Lauren
Louvet most recently served as group president, global beauty at Procter & Gamble (P&G), a division of 12 brands with approximately 11.5 billion dollars in revenues in 2016.
Commenting on taking on the new role at Ralph Lauren, Louvet added in the statement, “Ralph is one of the world's greatest fashion icons and someone I have admired for many years, and it's an incredible opportunity to partner with him to continue to build on 50 years of heritage and innovation. The brand holds tremendous potential around the world and I could not be more excited to lead the next phase of development for this great company with Ralph and the team.”
The company added that, Louvet is a brand expert with more than 25 years of experience at P&G. Over the course of his career he has overseen several different multi-billion dollar, category-leading brands and has held numerous management and leadership roles in Europe, Asia and North America. Prior to his current role at P&G, which he has served in since February 2015, Louvet was group president, global grooming (Gillette). He also previously served as president of P&G’s global prestige business where he oversaw a diverse portfolio of 23 fashion brands, including Gucci and Hugo Boss.
He currently serves on the board of directors of Bacardi Limited, which he joined in July 2012. Additionally, he served in the French Navy from 1987-1989 as Naval Officer, Admiral Aide de Camp.
Picture:Ralph Lauren website
- Prachi Singh |
Ralph Lauren Corporation has appointed Patrice Louvet as President and Chief Executive Officer effective July 17, 2017, at which time, he will also be appointed to the Ralph Lauren Corporation Board of Directors. Louvet will dual report to Ralph Lauren in his capacity as Executive Chairman of the Board and to the company’s Board of Directors.
“Finding the right partner to work with me to take us forward in our evolution has been my primary focus over the last several months and I am thrilled that Patrice is joining our talented team. He’s an enormously skilled business leader with a deep passion for the consumer and a sophisticated understanding of building global brands,” said Ralph Lauren, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer in a company announcement.
Patrice Louvet appointed CEO of Ralph Lauren
Louvet most recently served as group president, global beauty at Procter & Gamble (P&G), a division of 12 brands with approximately 11.5 billion dollars in revenues in 2016.
Commenting on taking on the new role at Ralph Lauren, Louvet added in the statement, “Ralph is one of the world's greatest fashion icons and someone I have admired for many years, and it's an incredible opportunity to partner with him to continue to build on 50 years of heritage and innovation. The brand holds tremendous potential around the world and I could not be more excited to lead the next phase of development for this great company with Ralph and the team.”
The company added that, Louvet is a brand expert with more than 25 years of experience at P&G. Over the course of his career he has overseen several different multi-billion dollar, category-leading brands and has held numerous management and leadership roles in Europe, Asia and North America. Prior to his current role at P&G, which he has served in since February 2015, Louvet was group president, global grooming (Gillette). He also previously served as president of P&G’s global prestige business where he oversaw a diverse portfolio of 23 fashion brands, including Gucci and Hugo Boss.
He currently serves on the board of directors of Bacardi Limited, which he joined in July 2012. Additionally, he served in the French Navy from 1987-1989 as Naval Officer, Admiral Aide de Camp.
Picture:Ralph Lauren website
- Prachi Singh |
Pepe Jeans India has appointed Sartaj Singh Mehta as Vice-President, Design. The statement from the company said, Sartaj Mehta brings with him over two decades of industry experience and expertise in the creative domain.
In his new position, Mehta will play a pivotal role in expanding the current product portfolio, as well as planning and developing new product ranges for the Indian market in line with the Pepe Jeans international product line, the company added.
Prior to his appointment at Pepe Jeans, Mehta was the creative head at ITC and was responsible for creating seasonal lines at both Wills Lifestyle and John Players brands. Mehta started his career with Madura Garments (Aditya Birla Group) where he worked for seven years and went on to become the creative director of Allen Solly.
During his tenure at Allen Solly, he won the ‘Chairman’s young achiever award’. In 2005, he joined the Benetton Group as product head and was then appointed as the product director, where he was responsible for strategically managing all product categories was responsible for creating growth strategy across all categories.
During his stint at Colour Plus India (Raymond Apparel) Mehta was appointed director of design and merchandising and played a larger role in product development. Mehta was also one of the founding members at Zovi.com, where he was instrumental in setting up the business division for the portal as well as overlooked all aspects of product- design, sourcing and production.
Picture credit:Pepe Jeans India
- Prachi Singh |
VF Corporation has appointed of Arne Arens to the position of Global Brand President, The North Face, effective immediately. In March of this year, Arens was named vice president and general manager, The North Face, Americas. He will continue to report to Scott Baxter, Vice President, VF and Group President, Outdoor & Action Sports Americas.
“Arne has continuously demonstrated his strong leadership skills and ability to drive value for The North Face brand,” said Baxter in a statement, adding, “I am confident that Arne’s passion for and deep understanding of the outdoor marketplace, coupled with his management expertise and operational agility, make him ideally suited to unlock new opportunities and accelerate growth for The North Face around the world.”
The company said, since joining VF in 2010, Arens led The North Face brand in EMEA where he oversaw sales, marketing, merchandising, product development and direct-to-consumer activities. In his most recent role as general manager of the Americas, he managed the brand’s Americas business and strategic initiatives for sales, merchandising and the direct-to-consumer business.
Prior to joining VF, Arens worked at Nike in Europe, where he spent eight years in marketing, sales and category roles. Before Nike, he served in consulting roles across a range of industries and geographies.
Picture:Facebook/The North Face
- Meenakshi Kumar |
Leading fashion retailer Shoppers Stop has announced the appointment of Amin Kassam as the chief of retail operations. Kassam will be responsible for spearheading retail operational efficiencies, enhancing customer experience, aligning omni-channel operations, championing technological innovation and digitisation of the stores.
Govind Shrikhande, customer care associate and Director, Shoppers Stop points out that Kassam comes with a proven track record of success in multiple areas including operations, sales, customer experience and technology across geographies such as the United Kingdom (UK), Ireland and India. Kassam’s leadership, retail business and vision takes the customer experience to the next level. This is what the company was looking for the next phase of omni-channel journey.
Kassam further adds that Shoppers Stop is at the limit of pivoting into a pure omni-channel business. Modern retail is at a threshold of change in India and he looks forward to joining the team that is scripting India’s incredible retail story. Before Shoppers Stop, Kassam was the Chief Operating Officer at Reliance Trends, where he managed pan-India retail operations. Before setting sights on Indian market, he had extensive retail experience in the UK/Ireland markets.
- AFP |
Vogue Arabia, the style bible that sought to put the Middle East on the international fashion map, has dismissed and replaced its Saudi princess editor after just two editions.
The announcement came one day after Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz, the mother of three who previously set up a members-only fashion business introducing edgy designers to the Gulf, told media outlets that she had been sacked. Nervora, the Dubai-based publishers, announced Friday that Manuel Arnaut, who began his career at Vogue Portugal, had been appointed editor-in-chief effective May 7.
He is the second man appointed to lead an edition of Vogue in less than a week, following the appointment of Ghana-born Briton Edward Enninful to British Vogue. Even in the cut-throat world of glossy magazine publishing, it was an astonishingly quick exit for a woman widely known in fashion circles and feted for putting US supermodel Gigi Hadid in a jewel-encrusted veil on the inaugural cover.
"I refused to compromise when I felt the publisher's approach conflicted with the values which underpin our readers and the role of the editor-in-chief in meeting those values in a truly authentic way," Abdulaziz told Business of Fashion. "I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish in such a short space of time," the London-based website quoted her as saying.
Arnaut has worked for Conde Nast for more than a decade and oversaw the 2015 launch of Architectural Digest Middle East. "The team and I are committed to working towards a Vogue Arabia that is the proud voice of the region, representing the strength and allure of the Arab woman," he said in a statement.
Nervora CEO Shashi Menon paid brief tribute to Abdulaziz, who was appointed in July 2016. "As the launch editor-in-chief of Vogue Arabia, Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz has earned a place in the history of fashion and Vogue," Menon said. Vogue Arabia launched an Arabic and English-language website last year and its print edition in March. It is published by Nervora under license agreement with Conde Nast International. (AFP)
- Prachi Singh |
Michael Kors Holdings has named Thomas J. Edwards, Jr. as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer effective immediately.
“We are excited to have Tom join our organization and oversee responsibilities for global finance, operations and IT,” said John D. Idol, Michael Kors Chairman and CEO in a statement, adding, “Tom is a veteran in the global consumer goods industry and a proven financial and operational leader. He will be instrumental to us as we continue to execute on our key growth and operational initiatives as well as drive value for our shareholders.”
The company said, Edwards has extensive experience as a financial and operational leader. He joins the company from Brinker International, a casual dining restaurant company, where he served as executive vice president and chief financial officer since March 2015. Prior to that, he held numerous positions within finance at Wyndham Worldwide from 2007 to 2015, including having served as executive vice president and CFO of the Wyndham Hotel Group from March 2013 to March 2015.
He has also held a number of financial and operational leadership positions in the consumer goods industry, including as vice president, consumer innovation and marketing services at Kraft Foods and vice president, finance at Nabisco Food Service Company.
Edwards is succeeding Joseph B. Parsons, who is retiring after 13 years with the company. Parsons will remain with the company through August 1, 2017 in his current role.
Picture:Michael Kors website
- Meenakshi Kumar |
Since the time Venu Nair, MD, Marks & Spencer Reliance India has stated that he is leaving the company to join Tata’s retail venture Trent as the Chief Commercial Officer, a guessing game was on on who will be the next MD of M&S India. Experts predicted the company might think of some alternatives in its Indian arm only, as the complexities of the market here demand a local intervention.
As predicted, M&S has appointed a company loyalist, though not Indian but he knows the nitty gritty of woking in a diverse nation like India. He is James Munson, the ex-retail head of M&S. He will commence his new role in May and will be responsible for growing Marks & Spencer’s joint venture business in India with Reliance Retail.
Munson joined Marks & Spencer in the UK in 2006 as an experienced manager from The British Home Store (BHS) and has over 20 years of retail experience. He shifted to India in 2011, as India retail head of Marks & Spencer Reliance including responsibilities for supply chain and visual merchandise. In 2014, Munson left India with a bigger role as he was appointed MD of the Czech Group with responsibility for 48 stores in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, and Estonia.
With 57 stores across 27 cities, India has the highest number of Marks & Spencer stores in the world outside the UK. The company, which opened its first store in India in 2001, signed a joint venture with Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail to form Marks & Spencer Reliance India in April 2008. The apparel retailer is also expanding its online reach through fashion platforms Myntra, AJIO and, most recently, Amazon.
Marks & Spencer Reliance India’s sales rose 16 per cent to Rs 714.3 crores in the financial year ended March 2016 from Rs 617.13 crores in the previous fiscal. Net loss narrowed in FY16 from the previous year.
- FashionUnited |
Jil Sander has confirmed that husband and wife duo Luke and Lucie Meier will be the creative directors of the brand. The news follows the departure of former creative director Rodolfo Paglialunga in March.
While both designers have lengthy resumés in the fashion world, this will be the first time they have worked together in a design capacity. Lucie has worked for other luxury French fashion houses including Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton, and most recently worked under Raf Simons at Dior, where she took the interim reins with Serge Ruffieux before Maria Grazia Chiuri's appointment. Luke cofounded menswear brand OAMC.
The duo will show their first collection in June.
Luke and Lucie Meier named creative directors of Jil Sander
“We feel proud and honored to join this beautiful brand,” the couple said in a joint statement after the announcement. “We hope to show the affection we have for this brand through our work, as Jil Sander has had such a profound influence on our paths.”
Alessandra Bettari, the chief executive of the brand, said that she expected “the creation of very clever collections” and that the Meiers had “a vision which is modern, cohesive, and in touch with what is relevant now.”
The brand has undergone some interesting phases as the brand's namesake founder has left and returned to the company three times, having permanently stepped down in 2013. As for what the Meier's will bring to Jil Sander, we can most likely expect those traditional, strong luxury Parisian influences, perhaps coupled with some street style influences due to Luke's preferred aesthetics.
photo via: Jil Sander Facebook
Anil Chandiramani and Associates