Alain Hellebaut is quitting his role as CEO of Maxi Toys. His departure is a logical consequence of the integration of the toy chain with its French counterpart King Jouet.
Synergy
In August 2020, French toy chain King Jouet took over two-thirds of Maxi Toys’ assets: 20 shops in Belgium and 97 in France. This saved 826 jobs at the time: a big relief for CEO Alain Hellebaut, who steered the retail chain through heavy weather and was able to achieve a relaunch under the new owners after a court protection procedure.
But following those owners’ decision to strengthen the synergy between the two chains and continue with one commercial model – that of King Jouet – it was agreed with the Belgian that he would step down as CEO of Maxi Toys in September 2022. Although it was foreseen that Hellebaut would still lead projects at group level, both parties have decided not to continue with that, general manager Philippe Gueydon reports in an e-mail to the retailer’s business contacts.
