PARIS – Jean-Marc Bellaiche has stepped down as chief government officer of Printemps, lower than six months after opening a splashy outpost in New York Metropolis, the French retailer mentioned on Thursday.
The manager notified the division retailer chain’s supervisory board that for “private causes” he had determined to not renew his contract, which expires on Sept. 15.
“After 5 years as CEO of the Printemps Group, we wish to thank Jean-Marc Bellaiche for his dedication and the profitable transformation he has led to inside the group,” the Printemps supervisory board mentioned in an announcement.
Bellaiche got here on board on the top of the coronavirus pandemic, taking on a place that was left unfilled for six months following the sudden departure of his predecessor, Paolo de Cesare, after a 13-year run.
Printemps was acquired in 2013 by Divine Investments SA, a Luxembourg-based funding fund backed by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the previous emir of Qatar.
Bellaiche joined the retailer from Contentsquare, the French start-up which supplies details about client habits on-line and helps e-commerce sellers adapt their provide accordingly.
He spearheaded a broad rejuvenation that included a rebrand, a pivot in direction of native clients and a digital transformation of the retailer, which launched its e-commerce web site in March 2020 simply because the nation went into lockdown. However his most seen legacy is the opening of the One Wall Avenue location, with its landmarked Artwork Deco Purple Room.
A glance inside Printemps Paris’s first retailer in New York Metropolis, opening on Wall Avenue.
George Chinsee/WWD
A graduate of the Ecole Centrale de Paris and INSEAD, Bellaiche spent greater than 20 years at Boston Consulting Group, the place he was senior accomplice and managing director. He was additionally BCG’s world chief for the Luxurious Style, Magnificence and Malls sector and co-led the digital sector inside BCG’s retail follow.
In 2014, he joined Tiffany & Co. as senior vp of technique and enterprise improvement, boosting the non-jewelry classes and accelerating the digital transformation of the model.
In an inner memo seen by WWD, Bellaiche listed the achievements of his Printemps tenure within the face of highly effective sector headwinds.
He mentioned e-commerce gross sales now signify 10 % of revenues for manufacturers obtainable each in-store and on-line.
Bellaiche touted the extension of luxurious model’s shop-in-shops, together with a brand new Louis Vuitton retailer opening quickly within the males’s division, and the introduction of accessible manufacturers similar to Typology and Westwing, to be joined quickly by Topshop. In the meantime, non-public label Saison 1865 has seen “distinctive” development during the last three years, he mentioned.
The manager additionally oversaw a revamp of the Deauville department in France, which was reworked into a colourful idea retailer geared toward rich holiday-makers.
“After my five-year mandate, and regardless of a sophisticated financial context, I’m leaving a stronger Printemps group, which has turn into worthwhile once more, with a cleaned-up enterprise mannequin, a strengthened government committee and groups and, for me, the sensation of a mission achieved,” he mentioned.
Bellaiche mentioned Friday can be his final day, and he plans to announce his subsequent transfer quickly.
A rendering of the Printemps flagship in Paris.
Courtesy of Printemps
