Tod’s marks a new direction for Roger Vivier. The Italian footwear group, owner of the company, has appointed a new captain for the luxury company. Catherine Sardin, formerly of Louis Vuitton, Alaïa and Maisonlejaby, will join the position of CEO of Roger Vivier on June 1.
Sardin will take over from Maria Cristina Lomanto, who left the position of CEO of the firm on April 15, 2022 to join Gucci as Executive Vice President and General Brand Manager, a newly created role for the Kering brand.
The new general manager of Roger Vivier will report to Simona Cattaneo, general manager of Tod’s
The new captain of Roger Vivier has extensive experience in luxury. Nevertheless, Sardin’s career in fashion begins at the American distribution company Levi’swhere she held, consecutively, the positions of product manager and marketing director between 1995 and 1999.
Posteriorly, Sardin joined the Louis Vuitton team, the flagship of the LVMH conglomerate, as head of the women’s leather goods offering. After spending five years in the French group, the management passed to Berluti as director of marketing and communication.
In 2010 Sardin became the CEO of JM Weston and in 2016 she was recruited to take up the same role at Maisonlejaby.. In 2019, the executive became the adviser to the CEO of Alaïa, a position from which she joins Roger Vivier. In her new position, the board will report to Simona Cattaneoappointed general manager of Tod’s last October, a newly created position.
Tod’s has warned of the impact of the closures in China on its business and explains that 30% of its stores in the country are not operational
Roger Vivier registered a turnover of 52.4 million euros in the first quarter of the current year, with a year-on-year increase of 8%. This is the least pronounced rise among Tod’s brands in the period.
The Italian group increased its sales by 23% compared to the first quarter of the previous year, up to 219.6 million euros. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, turnover increased by a slight 1.4%.
In the presentation of its quarterly results, the company warned of the impact on its business of the closures in China due to the advance of the pandemic. “March was the month most affected by the decline in consumption in the Chinese market due to the restrictions imposed by the Government due to the increase in coronavirus infections,” explained Diego Della Valle, president of Tod’s.
Emilio Macellari, financial director of the group, pointed out that 30% of the company’s stores in China remain closed and that, if the situation persists, the company’s sales in the Chinese market could be reduced by up to 40% in the second quarter.