LONDON — Mytheresa has appointed luxury veteran Steven Xu president of China and Asia Pacific. He will join the Munich-based luxury e-commerce company on July 1, and lead all of Mytheresa’s consumer-facing activities in the region.
The arrival of Xu signals Mytheresa’s ambition to make further inroads in China following the opening of a flagship on JD.com earlier this year.
Last month, Mytheresa described the flagship opening as a highlight of its third quarter ended March 31. The company said the opening was aimed at increasing “brand awareness and trust” with Chinese consumers.
Mytheresa was the first major global luxury player to sell to China via JD.com’s platform since Farfetch switched to Alibaba’s Tmall in 2021. Net-a-porter also sells via Tmall in China. Both Farfetch and Net-a-porter have been in the Chinese market for longer than Mytheresa.
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Mytheresa’s chief executive officer Michael Kliger has described the region as “quickly developing” on one hand, but “challenging” on the other.
He believes Xu’s arrival will further continue Mytheresa’s “successful global expansion. Having Steven joining shows our clear commitment to the sophisticated Chinese luxury shopper and their demands,” he said.
Most recently head of digital activation at British American Tobacco as well as Philip Morris, Xu has also served as vice president of digital marketing and e-commerce APAC at Ralph Lauren, where he managed the brand’s online business in the Asia Pacific region, particularly in China.
Xu believes there is “huge growth potential in the region as luxury consumers continue to shift to online. Mytheresa’s unique multibrand digital shopping experience will attract many more customers in the future.”
Gareth Locke, chief growth officer and managing director at Mytheresa, added that Asia Pacific — and particularly China — is “an important growth market” for the retailer.
“Building a local team there is crucial for us to make consumers even more aware of our unique value proposition and to deliver the first-class shopping experience that our customers expect,” he added.
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