Galeries Lafayette appoints Arthur Lemoine as CEO
Houzé, who was named CEO in 2013, will now focus on his role as president of the Galeries Lafayette group's executive committee, to which he was appointed last year.
'After over 10 years characterised by several transformations and challenges, Galeries Lafayette is ready to start a new chapter under the aegis of Arthur Lemoine,' said Houzé, who announced last year that the group would be investing €400 million to transform its stores by 2030. 'Arthur is extremely familiar with the challenges facing the group, and its objectives. His strategic outlook, his ability to generate team spirit and his knowledge of the fashion and retail sectors make him the ideal leader to drive our new efforts. I am convinced that he will be able to steer Galeries Lafayette along an even bolder trajectory, working closely with our staff, and I wish him every success in the pursuit of this mission,' added Houzé.
Lemoine has in-depth knowledge of the group, where he has been working for the past 15 years. He was first directly involved as perfumery buyer for the BHV Marais department store, and later led the perfumery category for BHV Marais and Galeries Lafayette. He then took charge of the food category, and oversaw the introduction in the Marais district of the Eataly restaurant chain, which recently announced it is closing.
Lemoine took the helm of the watches-jewellery business for the brands of the Louis Pion -Royal Quartz group in 2018, before assuming the role of head of purchasing at Galeries Lafayette. In this role, he spearheaded an assortment revamp for the luxury, designer and contemporary fashion sections within the Parisian department store's boulevard Haussmann flagship, a task for which he had many opportunities of interacting with brands and the media. Galeries Lafayette's boulevard Haussmann branch is said to have topped the €2 billion revenue mark in the group's latest fiscal year. Lemoine is a member of Galeries Lafayette's executive committee, and he runs Lafayette Anticipations, the group's corporate foundation.
'It is with profound pride and great humility that I take this new responsibility within Galeries Lafayette, succeeding Nicolas,' said Lemoine in a press release. 'For over 15 years, I have had the privilege of contributing to the development of this unique family business venture that showcases the finest creativity to the widest audience by promoting a specific vision of French art of living. I am fully aware of the responsibility I now carry, and I am committed to continuing our mission with dedication and passion, in order to promote an ambitious, audacious, and forward-looking retail experience, in France and beyond our borders,' he added.
Lemoine will be in charge of a department store fleet that includes 57 branches in France, only 19 of them owned by the Galeries Lafayette group with the remaining 38 operated by franchisees. The group also has 11 branches with partners outside France, some of them already active, like those in China, or in the pipeline, as that in New Delhi, India.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Cognac maker Remy Cointreau lifts guidance after China deal
Tariffs and the strong euro are weighing upon Remy Cointreau's sales and profit The group, which makes Remy Martin and Louis XIII cognac as well as Cointreau orange liqueur, now targets a mid-to-high-single-digits decline in adjusted operating profit for its 2025-2026 financial year, compared with the mid-to-high-teens decline previously forecasted. A major reason behind the improvement is the agreement earlier this month by European brandy exporters to raise prices in China to avoid anti-dumping duties, ending temporary measures that were costing French cognac makers 50 million euros per month. Remy Cointreau now expects a hit of 10 million euros ($11.8 million) from Chinese measures this year, as opposed to the 40 million euros previously. But the company raised its forecast for the impact of US tariffs to 35 million euros, from 25 million previously. The European Union is scrambling to secure a trade deal with the United States before August 1, when Washington has threatened to hike baseline tariffs from 10 to 30 percent. The company maintained its forecast of a return to mid-single-digit sales growth stripping out currency changes for 2025-2026, but noted this was primarily due to a rebound from a low comparison base in the United States. Sales rose by 1.8 percent in the April to June quarter to 220.8 billion euros. The gain was 5.7 percent stripping out exchange rate fluctuations and other changes to the business. Quarterly sales in the United States rose from a low base, while they edged lower in Asia due to the Chinese levies and fell in Europe, the Middle East and Africa due to heightened competition and sluggish demand. The strong value of the euro -- it has climbed more than 13 percent against the dollar since the start of the year -- has been weighing upon the results of European companies when they convert foreign sales back into euros. Remy Cointreau said it now expects a negative currency effect impact on sales of between 50 and 60 million euros for its 2025-2026 financial year, up from its earlier estimate of 30 to 35 million euros. It also raised the currency effect impact on adjusted operating profit to between 15 and 20 million euros, compared to 10 to 15 million euros previously. Remy Cointreau's shares jumped around four percent as trading got underway in Paris, while the blue-chip CAC 40 index fell 0.7 percent. © 2025 AFP
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Volkswagen takes 1.3-bn-euro hit from Trump tariffs
Overall net profit fell 38.5 percent year-on-year during the period to hit 7.28 billion euros ($8.54 billion). Higher-sales of lower-margin electric vehicles (EVs) as well as restructuring costs hit the result in addition to the tariffs, Volkswagen said. Finance chief Arno Antlitz said Volkswagen was nevertheless "on the right track" and that performance was at the "upper end of expectations", if tariffs and restructuring costs are excluded. The firm struck an unprecedented deal with unions last December to cut 35,000 jobs in Germany by 2030 as part of plans to save 15 billion euros a year. The 10-brand group also cut its revenue and profit outlook, warning of "political uncertainty and increased barriers to trade" for the remainder of the year. It now forecasts a profit margin for the year of between 4 and 5 percent, down from 5.5 to 6.5 percent previously, amounting to billions of euros for the firm. The range assumes that the United States will continue to levy tariffs of 10 percent on imported cars in the best case and stick to its current rate of 27.5 percent in the worst, Volkswagen said. Volkswagen's previous guidance, released in April shortly after new US tariffs took effect, did not take the increased duties into account. Sales by volume in North America fell 16 percent "mainly due to tariffs" in the first half even as they rose slightly worldwide, Volkswagen said. Trump in April slapped an additional 25-percent levy on imported cars as part of an aggressive trade policy he says will help boost US manufacturing. That has hit European carmakers. French group Stellantis -- whose brands include Jeep, Citroen and Fiat -- said on Monday that North American vehicle sales by volume plunged 25 percent in the second quarter of the year. US and European Union diplomats are currently negotiating ahead of the latest deadline set by Trump, with Trump threatening a blanket duty of 30 percent after August 1 if no agreement is reached.
LeMonde
9 hours ago
- LeMonde
Trump, Fed chief Powell bicker during tense central bank visit
Donald Trump and US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell appeared together for a tense meeting Thursday as the president toured the central bank after ramping up his attacks on its management of the economy. Trump – who wants to oust Powell for refusing to lower interest rates but likely lacks the legal authority to do so – has threatened to fire the Fed chief over cost overruns for a renovation of its Washington headquarters. During a brief but painfully awkward exchange in front of reporters during a tour of the building, the pair bickered over the price tag for the makeover, which Trump said was $3.1 billion. The actual cost of the facelift has been put at $2.5 billion and Powell was quick to correct the president, telling him: "I haven't heard that from anybody." Trump apparently produced a sheet of paper listing construction costs and was told curtly that he was including work on the William McChesney Martin Jr. Building, which was not part of the project. "You're including the Martin renovation – you just added in a third building," Powell scolded. Trump stuck to his guns, saying it was part of the overall redevelopment. Powell shot back: "No, it was built five years ago. We finished Martin five years ago... It's not new." Trump moved on but the tense atmosphere between the pair was almost palpable, with the Republican leader unaccustomed to being contradicted live on air. The tour came with Trump desperate to shift the focus away from the crisis engulfing his administration over its decision to close the file on multi-millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on trafficking charges. Attorney General Pam Bondi informed the president in the spring that his name appeared in the Epstein files, according to the Wall Street Journal. Epstein was accused of procuring underage girls for sex with his circle of wealthy, high-profile associates when he died by suicide in a New York jail cell. Trump has picked all manner of targets, including his Democratic predecessors and former chiefs of the security and intelligence services, as he tries to move Epstein out of the headlines. He berated Powell over interest rates on Wednesday and alluded to his annoyance over the cost of borrowing more than 10 times during Thursday's tour. "As good as we're doing, we'd do better if we had lower interest rates," he told reporters. 'Do the right thing' Presidential visits to the Federal Reserve are not unheard of – Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gerald Ford and George W. Bush all made the trip – but they are rare. Trump has criticized Powell for months over his insistence on keeping the short-term interest rate at 4.3 percent this year, after cutting it three times last year, when Joe Biden was in office. Partner service Learn French with Gymglish Thanks to a daily lesson, an original story and a personalized correction, in 15 minutes per day. Try for free Powell says he is monitoring the response of the economy to Trump's dizzying array of import tariffs, which he has warned could lead to a hike in inflation. But Trump has angrily accused Powell of holding back the economy, calling the man he nominated in his first term "stupid" and a "loser." The president struck a more conciliatory tone later Thursday, telling reporters they'd had a "productive talk" on the economy, with "no tension." "It may be a little too late, as the expression goes, but I believe he's going to do the right thing," Trump said. Soaring costs for the Fed's facelift of its 88-year-old Washington headquarters and a neighboring building – up by $600 million from an initial $1.9 billion estimate – have caught Trump's eye. A significant driver of the cost is security, including blast-resistant windows and measures to prevent the building from collapsing in the event of an explosion. The Federal Reserve, the world's most important central bank, makes independent monetary policy decisions and its board members typically serve under both Republican and Democratic presidents. Experts question whether Trump has the authority to fire Powell, especially since a Supreme Court opinion in May that allowed the president to remove other independent agency members but suggested that this did not apply to the Fed.
