LK Bennett hires former Emilio Pucci boss as its chief executive
LK BENNETT, the upmarket clothing and footwear chain, said yesterday it has hired the former boss of Italian luxury fashion brand Emilio Pucci to be its new chief executive.
Didier Drouet, who will take up the post with immediate effect, replaces Robert Bensoussan, the retailer’s executive chairman who has acted as chief executive since Margaret McDonald left in 2010.
Drouet was managing director of Emilio Pucci, owned by luxury group LVMH, from 2007 until 2011.
He was previously head of French footwear label Stéphané Kélian and before that was first European and later international retail director at Italian luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo.
Bensoussan said Drouet’s “wealth of international experience in the fields of fashion, accessories and luxury” will strengthen LK Bennett’s growth, boosted in part by Kate Middleton’s fondness for the brand.
He has also been hired to lead the group’s next stage of expansion in the UK and overseas. LK Bennett secured £16m of new funding from Lloyds Banking Group in May to help accelerate its expansion in the US.