Anja Hecht-Meinhardt, Managing Director of Gerry Weber Retail GmbH, is leaving the ailing clothing retailer from Halle in Westphalia.
The retail boss is leaving the company “at his own request in order to pursue a new professional challenge,” said Gerry Weber on Monday. Hecht-Meinhardt joined Gerry Weber from the clothing retailer C&A in early 2021 and has since been responsible for the group’s retail business as well as the areas of purchasing, visual merchandising and store design.
“Anja was always a convinced and convincing brand ambassador,” said Angelika Schindler-Obenhaus, CEO at Gerry Weber. “She managed to make our new brand positioning tangible for our customers at the POS and to create an unmistakable store experience. Anja made a very important contribution to the successful restructuring, the creation of a sustainable store portfolio and thus to the further development of our retail business.”
New structure for German retail
With the departure of Hecht-Meinhardt and the future smaller branch network in Germany, which will be reduced from a total of 171 to 49 locations, the company is also opting for a new structure.
The German stores become part of the new company Gerry Weber DE GmbH, managed by Bobby Faas and Gökay Bostanci.
Faas has been with Gerry Weber since March 2022, most recently in the role of Director Stores and Concessions Europe. He came to Halle in Westphalia from the Spanish clothing supplier Mango. In addition to his new role, he will continue to be responsible for the entire European market as Managing Director Retail Europe.
Bostanci has held various positions at Gerry Weber for more than eleven years. He will continue to be responsible for his previous role as Director Shared Services and Project Management Office. In addition, he will take on commercial and conceptual issues for the new company.
“I am delighted that we have been able to recruit Bobby and Gökay to lead our retail business. Both complement each other very well,” said the Gerry Weber boss. “Our branch network in Germany will be much smaller in the future, but it will have a beacon function for our brands. We want to develop further here, inspire our customers at all levels and offer them unique brand and shopping experiences. “
This post was updated on July 10, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. with details by Gerry Weber.