LVMH Group
On December 13th, LVMH, the French luxury goods giant, announced the appointment of Claire de Coincy as the Group’s HR Director, effective immediately on the same day. Claire de Coincy will report directly to Chantal Gaemperle, the Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Synergies at LVMH, and she will be responsible for guiding the HR strategy of the group’s holding companies and continuing to drive the transformation and changes achieved by LVMH and its employees over the past years.
Claire de Coincy began her marketing career twenty years ago, driven by a deep passion for brands and business. Soon after, recognizing the key role of people in shaping success, she transitioned into the HR industry.
Claire De Coincy
Claire de Coincy now has over 18 years of experience in HR roles. Her most recent position was as the Global HR Director for Chloé, a French luxury fashion brand under Swiss luxury giant Richemont, where she served for over six years. Her focus there included attracting and recruiting top talent globally for Chloé, developing and implementing employer brand strategies, and nurturing talent through comprehensive career management and personalized learning plans.
Previously, she worked for over 11 years at L’Oréal Group, holding leadership positions in HR, primarily aiming to recruit and cultivate top talent for the luxury divisions of brands like Lancôme, YSL Beauty, Armani Beauty, Biotherm, and Helena Rubinstein. Additionally, she focused on maintaining the company’s digital transformation through change management projects.
Gucci/Kering Group
Recently, Gucci, the flagship brand of French luxury conglomerate Kering, appointed former Prada COO Massimo Vian as the new Head of Industrial Operations and Supply Chain. This is a highly strategic role, given the importance of luxury brands closely monitoring their supply chains.
Vian is set to officially start in January 2024, reporting directly to Gucci CEO Jean-François Palus.
The current occupant of this position, Massimo Rigucci, plans to leave in mid-January after working for Gucci for 23 years, primarily overseeing industrial operations for leather goods, footwear, and jewelry. Since 2018, Rigucci has led the establishment of Gucci’s cutting-edge craftsmanship and R&D center, ArtLab, dedicated to the design and development of leather goods and footwear, located in the outskirts of Florence in Scandicci.
Massimo Vian
Gucci has stated that in his new position in Gucci, Vian “will be responsible for the product development and manufacturing processes for leather goods, footwear, ready-to-wear, and jewelry categories, as well as product distribution processes across various sales channels”.
Massimo Vian, 53, born in Italy, has extensive experience in luxury operations. He worked for 13 years at Italian eyewear giant Luxottica, joining in 2005 as the Head of Industrial Engineering, and was appointed CEO of Products and Operations in 2014, leaving Luxottica in 2017. He then became CEO of Falconeri, an Italian cashmere brand under the Calzedonia Group (recently renamed Oniverse), and joined Prada in 2020.
Following a slowdown in performance over the past two years, Gucci is undergoing a profound transformation, aiming to reposition itself in the high-end luxury market. This led to a thorough overhaul of its senior management. Since October, the brand has been led by Jean-François Palus, and in early 2023, Sabato De Sarno was appointed as the new Creative Director.
YEEZY
American rapper and designer Kanye West announced on his personal page on social platform X that designer Gosha Rubchinskiy will be the new Design Director for his personal brand YEEZY, responsible for the brand’s menswear. He added that “the joining of this legendary Russian designer to Yeezy, a prominent global music and fashion brand, marks a milestone in design history.”
Last year, following Kanye West’s anti-Semitic remarks, his brand YEEZY’s multi-billion-dollar sneaker deal with Adidas was terminated. A few months ago, Rubchinskiy started collaborating with Kanye West, designing the cover and merchandise for the rapper’s new album with Ty Dolla $ign, “Vultures”.
Cover designed by Gosha Rubchinskiy for Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s new album “Vultures”
Additionally, on Instagram, Rubchinskiy shared that his eponymous brand will also be relaunched as an independent label. Previously, this skateboarding-style brand achieved significant success with a post-Soviet concept, supported by Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons. However, in 2018, the designer faced allegations of inappropriate behavior, which damaged his public image. Last year, Rubchinskiy parted ways with Comme des Garçons and his own brand Rassvet, established in 2016.
Gosha Rubchinskiy
Now, he has signed an agreement with new financial backers aimed at rebuilding his namesake brand. It is reported that he is working on the first collection for the new brand.
B&B Italia/Design Holding
Design Holding, an Italian high-end home furnishing giant, has appointed Demetrio Apolloni as the new CEO of its Italian furniture brand B&B Italia Group, succeeding Gilberto Negrini, who chose to leave after four years of service. This appointment took effect from December 21st.
In his new role, Apolloni will be responsible for strengthening brands such as B&B Italia, Maxalto, and Azucena, and formulating growth and expansion strategies. Additionally, his mission includes overseas growth, development of various sales channels, and the launch of sustainable products.
Demetrio Apolloni
Before accepting this appointment, Demetrio Apolloni held important positions in high-end design companies such as Vitra, Cassina, and Knoll. Notably, from 1993 to 2006, Apolloni worked at B&B Italia Group, serving as the CEO of the American subsidiary, overseeing the development of the U.S. market. This appointment marks the return of Demetrio Apolloni.
Daniel Lalonde, CEO of Design Holding, welcomed Apolloni, stating that his “extensive experience in the field, coupled with his strategic vision and skills accumulated in the international market, will strengthen B&B Italia Group’s leadership position in the high-end design sector.”
Design Holding Group, controlled by private equity funds Investindustrial and Carlyle, includes companies such as B&B Italia, Louis Poulsen, Maxalto, Arclinea, Azucena, Fendi Casa, Audo Copenhagen, and Lumens.
Chrono24
Chrono24 GmbH, the world’s largest online luxury watch dealer, recently announced the appointment of Carsten Keller, a senior executive from European fashion e-commerce company Zalando, as its new CEO. Keller is expected to join Chrono24 in January. Previously, he led the establishment of Zalando’s connected retail business and served as Vice President for direct-to-consumer operations.
Chrono24 stated that Keller would replace the current co-CEOs, Tim Stracke and Holger Felgner. Felgner will remain a shareholder and board member of Chrono24, while Stracke will become the Chairman of the Board. Other shareholders of Chrono24 include various private equity funds, football star Cristiano Ronaldo, and the family investment arm of Bernard Arnault, Chairman of the LVMH Group.
Carsten Keller
This executive change marks a significant personnel shift at Chrono24. Valued at over $1 billion, Chrono24 had previously considered going public. However, since April 2022, the secondary market prices of luxury watches from top brands like Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet, which had soared to record levels during the pandemic, have been falling. As prices corrected, Chrono24’s sales growth also slowed.
In a recent interview, Tim Stracke said that Chrono24’s sales are expected to grow by about 3% in 2023 compared to the previous year. The U.S. market is projected to increase by 11%, and the EU market by 6%.
Alpargatas
On December 13th, Alpargatas, one of Brazil’s largest footwear manufacturers and the parent company of the famous flip-flop brand Havaianas, announced that its board had elected Liel Miranda as the new CEO. In the context of sluggish sales, modest profits, and unstable international market expansion in recent quarters, Alpargatas is attempting to turn its business around.
Liel Miranda is set to replace Luiz Fernando Edmond in February, who will continue to remain on the company’s board. In his new role, Miranda will “play a key role in the ongoing transformation process started in 2023, with a focus on simplification and efficiency.”
Liel Miranda
Liel Miranda is currently the head of Mondelez International’s Brazilian division, a snack manufacturer. Before that, he also led Souza Cruz, a cigarette company under British American Tobacco.
Citibank analysts welcomed this appointment in a note to clients, stating that “the lack of a clear CEO in a challenging transformation process” was a key factor in the market’s skepticism towards Alpargatas. However, “despite this, we still believe the challenges are complex; Alpargatas not only needs to reduce its complex product portfolio but must also structurally review its sales and operational planning.”
| Sources: Fashion Network, HR Katha, Business World People, pambianconews, Bloomberg, official websites and LinkedIn pages of various groups/brands, LinkedIn profiles of executives.
| Image Credit: Official websites and LinkedIn pages of various groups/brands, LinkedIn profiles of executives.
丨Reporter：Ying Yuze
| Editor: LeZhi
