The year ended turbulently for the S.Oliver Group. After the surprising change of CEO, the rumors about Sonja Balodis returning to the S.Oliver Group have now been confirmed. With the start of the new year, Balodis assumes responsibility for the product areas of the brands S.Oliver, Comma, QS by S.Oliver and Triangle as Chief Product Officer (CPO) and joins the management of the Rottendorf fashion group.
Sonja Balodis is no stranger to S.Oliver. She was part of the S.Oliver Group from September 2007 to 2020 and has held numerous managerial positions in the company, most recently as CEO of the subsidiary Comma, which she chaired for four years. In July 2020 she moved to the Bodelshausen-based fashion label Marc Cain, where she was responsible for the areas of design, technical development, production, purchase and marketing.
Sonja Balodis wanted to switch to the Witt Group
In October 2022, the Witt Group announced that Sonja Balodis would join the management of the Witt Group as of January 1, 2023. It should cover international markets, menswear, quality management and the brand ‘Behold!’ responsible. The denial came at the beginning of December, although Balodis had already signed the contract with the Otto subsidiary and the change had been officially announced.
Balodis’ sudden change of heart coincided with the surprising news in early December that CEO Claus-Dietrich Lahrs was leaving the S.Oliver Group. The former Hugo Boss CEO had only joined the S.Oliver Group three years ago and was treated as a beacon of hope. Both parties are silent about the reasons for this step. Lahrs’ successor was only announced a week before the Christmas holidays: Jürgen Otto, who will take up his position in February 2023.
The management of the S.Oliver Group will consist of four people from February 1st, 2023: Jürgen Otto as CEO, Oliver Hein as COO, Kai Bauknecht as CFO and Sonja Balodis as CPO. “The powerful and experienced management team will work together with proven experts to shape the turnaround and future development of the S.Oliver Group,” says the company’s press release.