After less than six months, Matthijs Visch, De Bijenkorf‘s newly appointed CEO, is stepping down. “In the interests of both De Bijenkorf and himself”, the chain of department stores must once again look for a manager.
For a new phase of growth
Bijenkorf is once again facing a change at the helm of the company. In an internal communication to staff, André Maeder, CEO of parent company Selfridges, announced the “sad news”. “Matthijs and I agree that this decision is in the best interests of De Bijenkorf and Matthijs personally”, it read. The departure is said to be for personal reasons, according to De Telegraaf. The manager had already been out of the office for some time.
Visch took over last summer from Giovanni Colauto, who retired after 12 years. Under Colauto’s leadership, De Bijenkorf transformed itself into a high-end brand, resulting in the closure of five branches and an emphasis on exclusivity. Although this strategy has helped to stabilise the company after it suffered strong losses in 2020 and 2021, it remains financially difficult. In 2023, the group posted only a modest profit.
Before joining De Bijenkorf, Visch ran the Patagonia brand and worked at Nike. His appointment was presented at the time as an opportunity to lead De Bijenkorf into a new phase of growth. De Bijenkorf is part of the Selfridges group, which was recently acquired by the Thai group Central. In October, a 40% stake was sold to Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF.
