Mulberry Group has unexpectedly declared the immediate departure of its longstanding CEO Thierry Andretta. The luxury brand has declared that Andrea Baldo will join the Mulberry board asCEO, following Thierry Andretta, who is stepping down from the board and exiting the company after taking charge in 2015.
Baldo, based in the UK, carries over 20 years of experience spearheading fashion brands, most recently working as CEO and Executive Director of Ganni from 2018 until prior to this year. During his tenure, he concentrated on growing the business globally via retail network development, product innovation, and enhancing brand identity to better customer engagement.
Previous to Ganni, Baldo held positions at Coccinelle from 2016 to 2018 and Marni Group from 2013 to 2016, where he remodeled strategic priorities that led to better sales and profitability. He also spent over 10 years at Diesel, including as COO of its US operations. While Andretta’s departure is instant, Baldo will officially assume his new role at the start of September.
Commenting on the selection, Chairman Chris Roberts shared, “Following a wide-ranging search process, Andrea’s profound expertise in international fashion brands, creative vision, and strategic expertise made him the perfect choice for this position. I would also like to express thanks to Thierry for his contributions to the company.”
No reason were offered for Andretta’s departure. In its latest trading update in May, Mulberry accounted a 4 per cent fall in sales for the year ending March, or 2.7 per cent at steady exchange rates, while maintaining gross margins akin to those of the first half of the year. Retail sales saw a humble increase of 0.3 per cent (or 1.9 per cent at steady exchange rates), with international retail sales rising by 7.2 per cent (or 11 per cent at constant exchange rates) and UK sales down by 3.2 per cent.
The company predicts a loss for the year, attributing this to the wider decline in luxury spending, especially in UK and Asia, as acknowledged by Andretta. He pointed out that these conditions are predicted to persist in the near term. Mulberry has not yet released its full-year results for the present fiscal year, although in 2023, they were released in late June.
