Luxury Recruit Strengthens Search Staff
December 14, 2018 – Luxury Recruit, an executive search firm focused on the retail, fashion and luxury industry, has expanded with the addition of Olivier Parent as managing partner. In his new role, Mr. Parent leads the day-to-day activities of the firm, working closely with CEO Mohammed Mirza.
Mr. Parent brings a wealth of experience to the role. He started his career in Paris in accounting and finance, then moved into recruitment in 2010, joining Approach People Recruit S.A. There, he worked across sectors and helped build the organization from the ground up, recruiting for clients in Switzerland across EMEA.
During his stint at Approach, Mr. Parent identified the luxury goods sector as his preferred area of specialization. He subsequently moved to Richemont Group, where he established the organization's first in-house resourcing function. In that capacity, he worked with C-level stakeholders and advised senior management on talent sourcing strategy as well as on employing innovative and best-in-class frameworks and practices to identify and engage talent.
"In particular, Olivier's deep technical knowledge and experience of developing recruitment platforms will complement and enable the existing Luxury Recruit team as they continue to work with brands and leaders of all types, from public companies to family owned groups and start-up ventures," said Mr. Mirza. "As the company continues to grow and enter new markets, I have for some time been looking for the right individual to support the company's continued success and development. I look forward to working with Oliver to build our franchise and global footprint."
Established in 2007, Luxury Recruit is a recruitment and executive search firm focused on placing the high-caliber professionals exclusively into the consumer sector and luxury goods industries. Its clients encompass a broad range of consumer businesses in sectors including retail, consumer products, fashion, luxury, high-jewelry, travel, leisure, lifestyle, technology & e-commerce, and arts, culture & not-for-profit. The firm is headquartered in London.
Challenges Facing the Retail Sector
Retailers are facing major shifts in their businesses that call for "unprecedented responses" by CEOs who can effectively lead through change, intuitively and analytically understand the evolving consumer and respond to ambiguity, according to search consultants. Developed markets, excess retail capacity, rising prices, the shift to omni-channel retail and the unpredictable pace of change in consumer shopping habits all affect the type of leader that retailers now need.
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According to search firm Herbert Mines, 31 percent of incoming retail CEOs are focused on international expansion as a key strategic priority, making that global mindset a competitive differentiator when searching for new leaders.
Retail CEO turnover is accelerating. The New York-based retail recruiter reported that 47 percent of public retail companies with revenues exceeding $1 billion experienced a chief executive change the past five years (up from 34 percent during the previous three years). Since 2007, 71 percent of retail companies have experienced a switch in CEO.
"There is significant evolution, innovation and disruption in the retail market right now and both are therefore poised as growth sectors for our industry," said Margaret Gramann, managing director and leader of the consumer and retail practices at executive search firm Harvard Group International (HGI). "The consumer experience is at the heart of business success (or decline) – we need to delight them with what they want, what they need and what they (yet) don't know they want and need. And we need to deliver an integrated experience so they have the agility to engage from home, at stores or mobile."
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