Salvatore Ferragamo Chief Executive Officer, Micaela le Divelec Lemmi, is set to exit the company today, September 8, 2021, to be succeeded by Marco Gobbetti, Burberry’s current CEO next year. 

“I leave the company clean and healthy for new developments,” she said. Le Divelec Lemmi first joined the Florence-based company as a chief corporate officer and was named CEO in 2018. 

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Ferragamo will have new management at the beginning of 2022, executive vice-chairman Michele Norsa says. In addition to a new CEO, the company will reveal new heads of Europe, Middle East, Africa and North America regions in the coming months.

Originally, le Divelec Lemmi was supposed to remain CEO of the company until December 31, 2023. 

Norsa also thanked le Divelec Lemmi and expressed personal appreciation and gratitude for her “continuous support, commitment and professionalism over the past 14,15 months working together,” while responding to a question in a call to the press.

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On the extensive search before the final selection, he said it was “nice to have a person that will develop the company for the long term,” as he touted Gobbetti’s experience in the fashion and luxury sector and in running a public company. 

The Vice-chair also highlighted the efforts of management in turning around the company, focusing on improving margins, streamlining operations and cost monitoring. Both Norsa and le Divelec Lemmi boasted an improved sales mix at full price, growth in all product categories and geographies, especially in high-margin regions such as North America, China and South Korea.

Le Divelec Lemmi said Ferragamo had taken concrete actions to focus on its customers. In the first half of this year, earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation amounted to 144 million euros, compared with 32 million euros in the same period last year.

In the first half, retail sales rose 46.3 per cent to 381.3 million euros, representing 72.8 per cent of the total. In the second quarter, retail revenues climbed 81.4 per cent with China, North America, Latin America and South Korea exceeding pre-COVID-19 revenue levels.

Wholesale revenues soared in the second quarter of 2021 by 134 per cent compared with the same period last year, despite the challenges of the travel retail channel.

When asked about the choice of Gobbetti as the new CEO, Norsa said: “With the best team of professionals, I hope and believe he is the person for the future development of Ferragamo.”

The luxury industry has seen numerous management changes in recent times, across various sectors. Joshua Schulman, who has prior experience at Coach, Gucci, Bergdorf Goodman and Jimmy Choo, has taken over as CEO of Michael Kors. He will also succeed John Idol as chief executive officer of Capri Holdings in September 2022. Guido Terreni, former Bvlgari head, has become CEO of Parmigiani Fleurier, taking over from Davide Traxler.