MILAN — Valentino has tapped Alessandro Beretta as its new CEO of Europe.
This is a new role and he will report directly to Laurent Bergamo, chief commercial officer Americas, Europe, Middle East and Brazil driving the expansion of the European market for both the retail and wholesale channels.
Beretta started his career in Procter & Gamble where he progressed in several roles and later moved to Nike where he was appointed as partner management director Southern Europe.
The appointment was expected, following the company’s reorganization of its executive structure, with a focus on two strategic geographic markets, as reported in March.
Laurent Bergamo, who was appointed Valentino’s CEO of Americas in September 2020, was promoted to chief commercial officer Americas, Brazil, Europe and Middle East, reporting to Jacopo Venturini, CEO of the Rome-based couture house.
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Bergamo is based in New York and leads Valentino’s retail, wholesale and online distribution channels for the U.S., Canada and Mexico, while also mapping out a new expansion phase in Brazil, Europe and the Middle East.
Venturini oversees the CEOs of Greater China, Japan, South Korea and South East Asia. Last year, Valentino tapped former Zegna, L’Oréal and Berluti executive Masumi Shinohara as CEO Japan and South Korea. Also last year, Valentino named Mitchell Bacha CEO for Greater China.
Beretta will focus on the implementation of Valentino’s client and colleague-centric strategy, leveraging the group’s digital transformation.
As reported, Valentino’s e-commerce grew at a double-digit pace compared with 2020 and a triple-digit pace compared with 2019. It accounted for 16% of retail sales in 2021 compared with 5% in 2019.
Valentino has been internalizing its e-commerce, which was previously managed by the Yoox Net-a-porter Group, starting in mid-February with a launch in Japan. In May, it reached the U.S., and this region will be followed by Europe.
Venturini last year carried out a repositioning of the brand, further elevating its couture status and returning the company to the black and to 2019 sales levels.
Despite the impact of the pandemic, in the 12 months ended Dec. 31 revenues rose 39.6% to 1.23 billion euros, compared with 882 million euros in 2020. In the fourth quarter of last year, retail sales climbed 29%, driven by full-price sales, balancing the contraction of markdowns.
This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com.
