The new head of DFS Europe knows her industry and LVMH inside out. After a successful start to her career at L’Oréal and, above all, Printemps (Kering), Catherine Newey has spent the last ten years working for the Number One in luxury goods, first at Louis Vuitton and then at Le Bon Marché.
LVMH appoints luxury retailer to head its subsidiary DFS Group Europe.
Formerly of Kering (Printemps), Catherine Newey has been with Lvmh since 2014, and will replace Eléonore de Boysson as of June 17, 2024. The latter has decided to leave LVMH after 25 years of loyal service in order to “pursue external opportunities”, according to media outlet WWD, which obtained an internal group document.
Catherine Newey, who has been director of Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche since 2017, will herself be replaced by Elodie Abrial, currently director of women’s fashion at the same department store.
A rich career
Catherine Newey will report to Benjamin Vuchot, DFS Group CEO, in her new role. Her new responsibilities include managing DFS activities in Europe, as well as La Samaritaine in Paris and Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice. This luxury shopping center on Venice’s Grand Canal, operated by Lvmh, was inaugurated in 2016.
Catherine Newey’s background has prepared her well for these new responsibilities.
A graduate of Université Paris Dauphine (Master of Management-Marketing) and ECSP-EAP (Master of Marketing-Communication), she began her career in 1997 with a brief stint (nine months) at Lancôme, a subsidiary of the L’Oréal group.
She then spent 17 years with Kering, and in particular its Printemps department store chain, in various positions of responsibility. For the past seven years, she has held the position of Luxury Market Director, then Deputy Purchasing Director.
In 2014, she had joined the LVMH group, via its flagship brand Louis Vuitton, as Marketing Director for Accessories. This was before heading up Le Bon Marché, from 2017.
Ideal profile
In the internal memo evoking this appointment, Benjamin Vuchot stressed that Catherine Newey had “the ideal profile to lead our activities in Europe” and said he was “convinced that her great sense of leadership will enable DFS to reach new heights.”
For Chris de Lapuente, CEO of Lvmh’s Selective Retailing division, this “promotion illustrates once again the importance attached to internal mobility within the Group”.
Catherine Newey will now have to follow in the footsteps of her predecessor, Eléonore de Boysson. DFS Europe praised her “exceptional contributions” to the growth of our business in Europe and the Middle East, and to the development of our people. Eléonore de Boysson had set the tone for the opening of Fondaco dei Tedeschi in October 2016, followed by the completely renovated Samaritaine Paris in June 2021.
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Featured Photo: © DFS Group
