New Look picks up CEO from Bestseller China

By

Bruno Joly

Published
Dec 6, 2012

New Look has been without a boss for several months. The company’s 2011 was one revolving door for management, with a temporary stint by founder Tom Singh as CEO. Today the British group announced the arrival of Anders Kristiansen as CEO. He will only be responsible for the New Look chain, following the promotion of Xavier Wilmes to CEO of the company’s Mim retail chain in September. The 45-year-old Kristiansen formerly served as deputy chief executive of Bestseller Fashion Group China.

Brands from the Danish group Bestseller such as Vero Moda and Jack & Jones are very strong in the Chinese market. The question now is whether New Look intends to make China its main growth driver.

The group’s chairman Alistair McGeorge said in the company’s annual report for 2011/2012 that New Look was entering some new markets, but ones that had strong potential in the medium and long term. Obviously, he mentioned China but as the only example. At the end of March 2012, the retailer hardly had any store coverage in Asia, except for a few franchised stores in Singapore and Indonesia.

Prior to joining Bestseller, Anders Kristiansen had a long career in the stationary and office supplies industry in Asia, including president of Staples China, the office supply retailer. He also worked for the Swiss competitor Lyreco in the Asia-Pacific region as managing director.