Richemont Shakes Up Management as Jewelry Division Continues to Grow

   By Joshua Kirby 
 

Changes to Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA's management structure will allow a more focused approach at the Swiss luxury-goods group's individual brands and divisions, Chairman Johann Rupert said Friday.

Set out alongside first-quarter sales results, the changes entail the elimination of most members of Richemont's senior executive committee. The respective chief executives of jewelry brands Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, Cyrille Vigneron and Nicolas Bos, will step down from the committee, as will fashion & accessories CEO Philippe Fortunato, specialist watchmakers chief Emmanuel Perrin and group Chief Transformation Officer Frank Vivier. Mr. Vigneron and Mr. Bos will also refrain from standing for re-election to the board of directors at Richemont's annual shareholders' meeting on Sept. 8, when all changes come into effect.

Mr. Rupert, group CEO Jerome Lambert and Chief Financial Officer Burkhart Grund will remain on the executive committee, and will all stand for re-election to the board of directors at September's AGM.

Following the changes, executives in charge of maisons--or brands--and divisions will focus solely on sustainable development at their respective entities, Richemont said. The executive committee will meanwhile focus on strategic direction, governance and capital allocation.

"The outstanding development of Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, in particular, means that these businesses have reached a size and scale that require the full attention of their leaders and support of the group to continue on their remarkable trajectory," Mr. Rupert said, adding that agility and rapid decision-making have proved "essential" throughout the pandemic.

Streamlining of the group's governance is a positive move, RBC Capital Markets analyst Piral Dadhania said, noting the separation in strategic focus between the executive committee and the individual divisions.

Richemont's jewelry-maisons segment again saw strong growth in the fiscal year's first quarter to June 30, booking a 142% rise at constant currency compared with the same period the previous year. The overall revenue results were widely seen as impressive by analysts, and beat market expectations by some distance.

Write to Joshua Kirby at [e-mail]; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 16, 2021 05:03 ET (09:03 GMT)

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