Former Ikea manager Giny Boer has stepped in to get the ailing fashion retailer back on track. Her departure raises the question of how far she has been able to do that in recent years.
Giny Boer left C&A after three and a half years as CEO.
Fashion chain C&A needs a new CEO. As the fashion retailer announced on Tuesday, boss Giny Boer has stepped down to “focus on non-executive tasks” outside the company, including a board mandate at brewery Brewdog.
Edward Brenninkmeijer will act as interim CEO with immediate effect. The member of the ownership family was already managing C&A on an interim basis before Boer took office in 2021 and replaced her. He will assume leadership until a permanent successor is found. In recent years, the Brenninkmeijers withdrew from C&A’s board of directors and management.
As no replacement is available yet, the whole thing is not a change that has been planned for a long time. Q&A does not comment on the reasons. The event, of course, raises the question of how well Boer has managed to stabilize the business over the past three and a half years.
Faded image and backlog in online retail
The Dutch, who had previously worked with Ikea for a long time, started her job in the middle of the pandemic, when the closure of stores according to the law devastated the business. However, the clothing chain was already struggling with a faded image and weak sales as well as a backlog in online retail.
Under Boer’s leadership, the branch network was streamlined and the stores were given a fresher look. Boer also announced that he would reduce the range by 30 percent. There was also a need for cleaning and simplification behind the scenes, in the administration of the group, which won Boer not only sympathy internally.
Originally she wanted to present a two-year plan for the second phase of the company’s transformation in 2023. When asked how much time she needed to get Q&A fit, Boer once replied: “I don’t believe in long-term plans. In recent years we have seen how quickly the world can change.”
Now the business figures for Q&A may have changed too quickly. As a private family business, the retailer does not disclose any sales. But it was only in June that the company brought a new member, Marcos Grasso, to the board of directors and then emphasized the manager’s extensive knowledge of company transformation, which is “very relevant at the moment”. Grasso is already a board member at C&A in Brazil. He certainly also has ideas about what could be done better at C&A in Europe.
Various fashion chains have struggled to find their footing again after the pandemic. For example, Tally Weijl greatly reduced its activities, and the traditional company Peek & Cloppenburg (Düsseldorf) had to file for bankruptcy.
Bad weather pressures sales of fashion chains
The rainy spring also took its toll on the industry. For example, its competitor H&M recently announced a significant drop in sales in June, after sales had already been disappointing in previous months.
C&A has over 1,300 branches in 17 European countries and employs more than 27,000 people. In 2023, the company announced that it would open 100 new branches across Europe. The focus is particularly on Romania, Poland and Italy.
The company belongs to the Zug-based Cofra Holding. The company is owned by the descendants of the two founders, Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer, whose initials are still included in the C&A logo today.
There are C&A stores outside of Europe in Latin America. But the family sold the Mexican business, and about 65 percent of C&A Brazil, an independent company listed by Cofra.
Over the years there has been repeated speculation that the family, who have long since invested most of their assets in other areas, were looking to sell the fashion retailer. When asked about this, Cofra boss Boudewijn Beerkens said at least a few months ago: “C&A is a vital part of the group and will remain so.”