Current Rewe Group chief executive Alain Caparros, who is departing his role on 30 June, is poised to lead the European operations for clothing and textile retailer C&A, according to media reports.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that Caparros is set to replace interim CEO Edward Brenninkmeijer in the role, as C&A battles the twin challenges of falling revenue and a struggle with digitisation.
If the speculation materialises, Caparros would be one of the first ‘outsiders’ to take a leadership position with C&A, which was founded in 1841 by Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer and is staunchly family led. The business operates 2,000 branches in 21 countries, but has recently come under pressure from emerging budget chains such as Primark.
Background
Born in Algeria in 1956, Caparros previously worked at Yves Rocher and Aldi before taking charge at Rewe in 2006. He is due to be replaced by Lionel Souque in Rewe’s top job on 1 July.
Earlier this year, there was speculation that Caparros might be named the new chief executive at Carrefour, ahead of Georges Plassat’s departure, however, he staunchly denied these suggestions.
Caparros leaves Rewe with the business performing strongly, and his approach is likely to be welcomed by C&A, which has been slower to develop an online presence than many of its competitors, reports Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
