PERRIN REPORTEDLY LEAVING CARTIER FOR MANAGEMENT POST AT VENDOME
Byline: Katherine Weisman
PARIS — Alain-Dominique Perrin could be giving up his 17-year reign as president of Cartier International and Cartier France to take a new top management post at the Vendome Group, Cartier’s parent company.
Perrin, through a spokeswoman, denied such reports last week and executives at Vendome in the firm’s headquarters in Geneva and its offices in London declined to comment. But several sources said Friday that while there has been no official notification within Vendome or its luxury brands, Perrin will reportedly relocate from Paris, where Cartier is based, to London and work out of the company’s offices there.
While no specific title has been mentioned, sources said Perrin would take on a new management role, with the focus on organizing strategic global positioning of the Vendome brands.
In addition to Cartier, the firm’s luxury brands include Piaget, Baume & Mercier, Vacheron Constantin, Montblanc, Seeger, Alfred Dunhill, Sulka, Chloe and the Lancel French leather goods firm, Vendome’s most recent acquisition and one in which sources said Perrin has already been active. No time frame for the plan was specified.
Richemont’s luxury brands are held through the Vendome Luxury Group, which was previously listed on stock exchanges in London and Geneva, but was taken private again in March by Richemont, based in Switzerland.
Perrin has been involved with the Cartier brand since 1969 when he joined Les Briquets Cartier SA as a sales associate. He is credited with having developed the Must de Cartier concept, the firm’s more accessibly priced collection, and was president of the unit in the Seventies before being named president of Cartier International.
Perrin’s departure could set in motion other management changes at Cartier. Sources said Richard Lepeu, currently managing director, finance director and director of human resources at Cartier International, was a likely candidate to succeed Perrin. Gerard Djaoui, currently international executive director, was mentioned as another executive who would likely be given increased responsibilities and a key post.