Chanel has tapped a new president from within its ranks to lead the U.S. region, starting in September.
Stephane Blanchard will replace John Galantic, a 17-year veteran of the company who will soon step down to pursue other opportunities. Galantic plans to depart June 30, leaving a two-month period before Blanchard will fill the role.
A Chanel spokesperson confirmed the news about Blanchard to Fashion Dive via email.
Like Galantic, Blanchard has a long history with Chanel, where he has served as the managing director of Chanel Korea since 2016.
“In this time, Stephane has pioneered transformative initiatives in talent development and culture, client engagement, retail agility, and sustainability, while driving significant business growth,” the spokesperson said. “He has also championed digital and data transformation across the Asia Pacific region.”
During his three-decade career at Chanel, Blanchard has also held roles helping with the brand’s Russian and German operations.
“Stephane has established an excellent reputation as a multicultural, versatile and agile leader,” the spokesperson said. “He has built robust teams and delivered strong performance across multiple markets.”
Blanchard will take over the role during a time when Chanel is performing well in the U.S. region.
Revenue rose from around $2 billion in the Americas in 2020 to $3.5 billion in 2021, the latest year for which financial data is available. That represents a 79.5% surge, higher than the increases seen in all other regions.
Blanchard will have large shoes to fill, with Galantic credited for helping Chanel develop its digital capabilities. However, he ensured these decisions were “strategic and contained,” with a larger focus on building relationships with clients in stores, Robert Burke, the founder and CEO of a retail consulting firm, said in an email last week.
“Chanel has always been focused on serving their top VIP clients, and these relationships and transactions still happen in store, not online,” he said. “John played a key role in this.”
Galantic was also lauded with supporting some of the French luxury brand’s sustainability initiatives.
There may be much more work to do on this front, as the company recently missed a key renewable electricity objective and has faced accusations of greenwashing.
