The Galeries Lafayette group continues to reshuffle its senior executive team. After appointing Arthur Lemoine as CEO in early July, succeeding Nicolas Houzé, the French department store group has announced three promotions to senior posts from within its ranks. The first regards Guillaume Houzé, until now in charge of brand image and communication, who has been named managing director image and innovation.
Courtesy
Guillaume Houzé, brother of Nicolas, joined the group in 2008. He has also been a member of the executive committee since 2020, and is the president of Lafayette Anticipations, the group’s corporate foundation.
His promotion is a way of recognising “the work carried out in the last 15 years to position the Galeries Lafayette group as a high-calibre business and cultural player, both in France and internationally. With this new, cross-functional orientation, the group confirms its willingness to capitalise on creativity and technology in its differentiation strategy,” the group stated in a press release.
Guillaume Houzé
Emmanuelle Greth, who joined the group in summer 2024, has been appointed head of human resources and CSR. She previously worked at Sephora, as head of HR for the EMEA region, and at Canal+ and Guerlain.
Emmanuelle Greth – DR
Finally, Matthieu Caloni, who had been named head of finance, strategy and transformation in 2016, is the group’s newly appointed CFO. His promotion follows the departure at the end of June of Ugo Supino, who had been with the group for 25 years, lately as CFO. Caloni, a graduate of the ESSEC business school who has worked at LVMH and Thom Europe, “actively contributed to the deployment of many of the group’s transformation projects in the last 10 years,” said Galeries Lafayette.
Matthieu Caloni
All three executives will report to Nicolas Houzé, the new president of the group’s executive committee. He underlined that “by strengthening our governance with cross-functional responsibilities, and establishing clear accountability lines through Guillaume’s, Emmanuelle’s and Matthieu’s expertise, we are laying down the foundations for a more agile, consistent and forward-looking business model.”
The Galeries Lafayette group, which generates an annual revenue of €4.5 billion and employs 8,500 people, comprises the Galeries Lafayette department store chain (with 19 directly owned branches and 38 franchisees), as well as La Redoute, Louis Pion and Mauboussin. The group recently relinquished the running of the BHV Marais department store, and closed the Bazarchic e-shop.
The demerger of Unilever‘s ice cream division, to be named ‘The Magnum Ice Cream Company,’ which had been delayed in recent months by the US government shutdown, will finally go ahead on Saturday, the British group announced.
Reuters
Unilever said in a statement on Friday that the admission of the new entity’s shares to listing and trading in Amsterdam, London, and New York, as well as the commencement of trading… is expected to take place on Monday, December 8.
The longest federal government shutdown in US history, from October 1 to November 12, fully or partially affected many parts of the federal government, including the securities regulator, after weeks without an agreement between Donald Trump‘s Republicans and the Democratic opposition.
Unilever, which had previously aimed to complete the demerger by mid-November, warned in October that the US securities regulator (SEC) was “not in a position to declare effective” the registration of the new company’s shares. However, the group said it was “determined to implement in 2025” the separation of a division that also includes the Ben & Jerry’s and Cornetto brands, and which will have its primary listing in Amsterdam.
“The registration statement” for the shares in the US “became effective on Thursday, December 4,” Unilever said in its statement. Known for Dove soaps, Axe deodorants and Knorr soups, the group reported a slight decline in third-quarter sales at the end of October, but beat market expectations.
Under pressure from investors, including the activist fund Trian of US billionaire Nelson Peltz, to improve performance, the group last year unveiled a strategic plan to focus on 30 power brands. It then announced the demerger of its ice cream division and, to boost margins, launched a cost-saving plan involving 7,500 job cuts, nearly 6% of the workforce. Unilever’s shares on the London Stock Exchange were steady on Friday shortly after the market opened, at 4,429 pence.
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Burberry has named a new chief operating and supply chain officer as well as a new chief customer officer. They’re both key roles at the recovering luxury giant and both are being promoted from within.
Matteo Calonaci becomes chief operating and supply chain officer, moving from his role as senior vice-president of strategy and transformation at the firm.
In his new role, he’ll be oversee supply chain and planning, strategy and transformation, and data and analytics. He succeeds Klaus Bierbrauer, who’s currently Burberry supply chain and industrial officer. Bierbrauer will be leaving the company following its winter show and a transition period.
Matteo Calonaci – Burberry
Meanwhile, Johnattan Leon steps up as chief customer officer. He’s currently currently Burberry’s senior vice-president of commercial and chief of staff. In his new role he’ll be leading Burberry’s customer, client engagement, customer service and retail excellence teams, while also overseeing its digital, outlet and commercial operations.
Both Calonaci and Leon will join the executive committee, reporting to Company CEO Joshua Schulman.
JohnattanLeon – Burberry
Schulman said of the two execs that the appointments “reflect the exceptional talent and leadership we have at Burberry. Both Matteo and Johnattan have been instrumental in strengthening our focus on executional excellence and elevating our customer experience. Their deep understanding of our business, our people, and our customers gives me full confidence that their leadership will help drive [our strategy] Burberry Forward”.
Traditional and occasion wear designer Puneet Gupta has stepped into the world of fine jewellery with the launch of ‘Deco Luméaura,’ a collection designed to blend heritage and contemporary aesthetics while taking inspiration from the dramatic landscapes of Ladakh.
Hints of Ladakh’s heritage can be seen in this sculptural evening bag – Puneet Gupta
“For me, Deco Luméaura is an exploration of transformation- of material, of story, of self,” said Puneet Gupta in a press release. “True luxury isn’t perfect; it is intentional. Every piece is crafted to be lived with and passed on.”
The jewellery collection features cocktail rings, bangles, chokers, necklaces, and statement evening bags made in recycled brass and finished with 24 carat gold. The stones used have been kept natural to highlight their imperfect and unique forms and each piece in the collection has been hammered, polished, and engraved by hand.
An eclectic mix of jewels from the collection – Puneet Gupta
Designed to function as wearable art pieces, the colourful jewellery echoes the geometry of Art Deco while incorporating distinctly South Asian imagery such as camels, butterflies, and tassels. Gupta divides his time between his stores in Hyderabad and Delhi and aims to bring Indian artistry to a global audience while crafting a dialogue between designer and artisan.