Mytheresa appoints former Christie's executive to its management team

Michael Kliger is handing over the reins of the German luxury e-commerce platform to Francis Belin, a former executive at Richemont, Swarovski, and Christie’s, who brings with him valuable experience in Asia. Michael Kliger remains CEO of LuxExperience, the new luxury e-commerce giant, created in early 2025 from the merger of Mytheresa and Yoox Net-a-Porter (Ynap).

CEO of both Mytheresa since 2015 and LuxExperience since its creation, Michael Kliger is lightening his load. He will hand over the reins of the German luxury e-commerce platform to Francis Belin in January 2026. Belin will report directly to Michael Kliger, who will continue to oversee the group as a whole.

LuxExperience, the new luxury e-commerce giant, was created in early 2025 from the merger of Mytheresa and Yoox Net-a-Porter (Ynap). Having announced at the end of October that it would be selling its discount luxury platform THE OUTNET in early 2026, LuxExperience will now focus on its other platform in this niche, YOOX, and on its full-price platforms, namely NET-A-PORTER (women’s fashion), MR PORTER (men’s fashion), and Mytheresa (fashion for the whole family).

Mytheresa, the dynamic pillar of LuxExperience

Francis Belin will therefore take charge of the group’s dynamic pillar, Mytheresa.

In the first quarter of 2025-26, which ended on September 30, the platform saw its sales soar by 12.2% to €226.3 million, with EBITDA margin increasing from 1.4% to 3.5%. Meanwhile, Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter’s consolidated revenue fell 10.8% to €212.3 million, with adjusted EBITDA down €14.6 million, while Yoox’s sales plunged 16.6% to €118.6 million with an adjusted EBITDA loss of €21.4 million.

Founded in Munich in 1987 and a pioneer in e-commerce since 2006, Mytheresa sells a selection of 250 luxury brands, including several via exclusive capsule collections.

The right man for the job

With Francis Belin at the helm, the German platform should be able to stay on track. A graduate of ESSEC Business School (France) with a degree in international management and psychology from the University of Mannheim (Germany), the new CEO has a wealth of experience in the luxury sector and in Asia.

After starting his career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company from 1999 to mid-2004, Francis Belin moved to the Swiss luxury group Richemont, where he served as managing director for Japan for the watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre from 2004 to 2007, then worked for the Austrian crystal component specialist Swarovski from 2008 to 2016. There too, he worked in Japan, first as Managing Director for Japan, then as Senior Vice President for Greater China, and finally as Senior Vice President for Asia Pacific, in all three cases for consumer goods.

In 2016, he joined Christie’s auction house, where he became Head of Asian Art, later adding International Art to his responsibilities. He was then appointed President for Asia and then for the Asia-Pacific region, based in Hong Kong. These responsibilities enabled him not only to carry out major strategic operations, including the acquisition of the Californian car auction house Gooding & Company, but also to gain a deep understanding of affluent clients in Asia and the United States.

Valuable experience for Mytheresa

His experience will therefore be invaluable in helping Mytheresa evolve within the LuxExperience group’s organizational environment, which is more complex than in the past for the German platform but also offers opportunities for synergies. He will also be able to help it take off even more internationally, particularly in Asia (including the Middle East) and the United States.

In any case, Michael Kliger says he is “delighted” with this appointment. He explains that he has “found in Francis Belin an exceptional leader, renowned for his customer focus, international mindset, outstanding results, and collaborative leadership style,” and looks forward to supporting him “in writing the next exciting chapter for Mytheresa.”

For his part, Francis Belin said he was “deeply impressed by the solid business model and strong brand positioning” deployed by Mytheresa under Michael Kliger’s leadership. He is looking forward to “working with this talented team to lead Mytheresa into a new phase of global growth as a leader in the luxury sector.”