Richemont nominated Philippe Fortunato to head the fashion and accessories division of the group, which includes brands such as Chloé, Dunhill, Alaïa, Montblanc, Purdey, Peter Millar and Serapian. The position had been filled, ad-interim, by Jérôme Lambert, who took over after Eric Vallat was asked to leave in October 2019, after less than 1 year.
No divestment
Analysts have been asking for year what the future of Richemont fashion division was heading, as the group is mostly focused on jewelry. Some were imagining that the brands would be sold off, while other hoped for a very unlikely deal with Kering. The Swiss group sent the opposite signals. In October 2019 it announced the AZFashion project, created in partnership with stylist Alber Elbaz (the outcome of which is still to be presented). Now the group nominated Philippe Fortunato, CEO of Givenchy for six years before leaving last March.
Philippe Fortunato
Mr. Fortunato has gained much experience from LVMH, of which he was president and CEO of the North Asia market for Louis Vuitton, after his years as the CEO of Fendi. He also worked for Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton in China. It’s clear why the manager was called to direct activities of what the Swiss conglomerate defines as “Other” its balance sheet. Such segment is worth 1.79 billion euro (13% of the group’s revenue), with relevant weight carried by the “leather goods” division.
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