Grupo Cortefiel announces appointment of new CFO

Grupo Cortefiel has named Manuel Serrano Muñoz, former Loewe chief, as new chief financial officer, succeeding Marcos Gomez, who leaves the Spanish department store chain after 25 years.

Cortefiel thanked Gomez for his contribution to the business, leading the corporate and financial operations of the company in the last decade. The former CFO will remain in Cortefiel in an advisory capacity.

Manuel Serrano, who is currently serving as chief operating officer and chief financial officer for luxury fashion house Loewe, will take up the same role at Cortefiel.

Serrano has over 20 years of experience leading international luxury brands, including Parfums Givenchy, Parfums Dior, Guerlain and Kenzo, to name a few.

Cortefiel said Serrano will bring to the group his wealth of experience gained leading well-known labels as well as skills and knowledge in the design, development and distribution processes for both retail and wholesale businesses.

The Spanish company has made a raft of changes to its top management in the past year, including the appointment of Jaume Miquel as new chief executive officer. He replaced Berta Escudero, who stepped down citing personal reasons.

Additionally, Miguel Ibarrola was named as non-executive chairman, replacing Javier Campo in the role.

Cortefiel increased its sales for the year ended February 2016 by 8.3%, equating just over 1 billion euros.

The group said online sales across all brands (Cortefiel, Springfield, Pedro del Hierro and Women’secret) almost doubled in the period, beating the expectations for the e-commerce channel.

EBITDA was up 9.3% to 108.29 million euros.