Luxury Retailer YOOX Net-a-Porter Names Interim CEO

Online luxury and fashion retailer YOOX Net-a-Porter (YNAP) has named Alison Loehnis as its interim CEO.

Loehnis will take the reins of the company beginning Oct. 31, replacing Geoffroy Lefebvre who will step down to pursue “a private equity-backed entrepreneurial career” after 11 years with parent company Richemont, according to a Wednesday (Oct. 12) press release.

Loehnis has been with Net-a-Porter since 2007 and has served as president of YNAP brands Net-a-Porter, Mr. Porter, and The Outnet since 2015, the release stated. She is a “fashion industry leader with extensive knowledge” of YNAP’s brand partners, who has helped introduce broader product categories and expand to new markets.

In her new role, Loehnis will lead YNAP until the company sells 47.5% and 3.2% of YNAP’s share capital to fashion industry platform Farfetch and Alabbar, respectively, which is expected to happen by the end of next year, according to the release.

Once the sale is concluded, a new, external CEO will be appointed, the release stated.

The companies announced the sale in August, calling it a landmark for the digitalization of the luxury industry.

Read more: Luxury Industry Digitization Drives YOOX Net-a-Porter, Farfetch Partnership

At the same time, the players made an agreement in which YNAP and Richemont, which sold those stakes in YNAP, will adopt Farfetch Platform Solutions.

Richemont Chairman Johann Rupert said at the time that the deal marked “a significant step” toward his dream of an “independent, neutral online platform for the luxury industry that would be highly attractive to both luxury brands and their discerning clientele.”

Richemont spent years trying to make a wholesale eCommerce model work via YOOX Net-a-Porter before beginning negotiations with Farfetch, which owns no inventory but rather provides a platform to brands and boutiques.

See more: Yoox Net-a-Porter Launches Menswear Luxury Resale Line, Expands Beyond UK

This year also saw YNAP debut Mr. Porter, a men’s resale line, and expand its Net-a-Porter line beyond the United Kingdom into Germany, Hong Kong and the United States.

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