Galeries Lafayette Europe names new head of watches

European department store Galeries Lafayette has announced the appointment of Arthur Lemoine to head of watch activities. Lemoine succeeds Daphné de Jenlis, who is taking sabbatical leave but remaining in the group.

Reporting to the French group’s executive chairman Philippe Houzé, Lemoine will be in charge of luxury watch brands Louis Pion, Galeries Lafayette-Royal Quartz Paris and Augis 1830 as part of the Paris retailer.

In addition to the new role, Lemoine joins the executive committee of Galeries Lafayette BHV Marais, helmed by Nicolas Houzé.

Arriving at Galeries Lafayette ten years prior, the 33-year-old executive was most recently in charge of the firm’s Eataly rollout, after the group signed an exclusive franchise agreement with the Italian food chain in France.

With plans thoroughly underway, the first Eataly in Paris is slated to open in 2019.

The new appointment looks to strengthen Galeries Lafayette’s plunge into travel retail, by bolstering its luxury watch offering at key airport terminals in Paris.

Most recently, the department copped a contract to manage a network of watch stores at Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, coining each Galeries Lafayette-Royal Quartz Paris.

Meanwhile, the retailer announced last year the slated opening of its first mainland China store. The flagship is scheduled for Shanghai in 2018, with close to a dozen more outlets planned for major cities in China in the next seven years.

To coordinate international expansion, which in addition to China includes Istanbul, Luxembourg and Kuwait, the group has also created an international development team. At its head is Philippe Pedone, currently CFO for the group’s department store business and a member of the executive committee.

Galeries Lafayette group annual consolidated revenue is expected to be €4.5 billion, compared to the current €3.8 billion for the current fiscal year, with goals to reach €5.5 billion in 2020, 30% of which is to be generated online.