The Patrik Nilsson era at Gant has ended.
On Tuesday, the Sweden-based men’s brand elevated Brian Grevy, chief marketing officer, to chief executive officer, succeeding Nilsson, who has left the brand after a four-year run.
“Brian has been a key player in the global management team and I am happy to appoint him as ceo,” said Thierry Guibert, chairman of the board. “His understanding of how to transform brands in today’s rapidly changing retail environment has already proven invaluable for growth at Gant.”
Grevy has 20 years of businesses management experience. He joined Gant in June 2016. Before that, he served as general manager of training at Adidas.
As ceo, his first priority is to “develop a strategy that continues to build value for the consumer, and also ensures further growth for Gant,” the company said.
“Gant has a tremendous heritage and great potential — which is why I joined the company in the first place,” Grevy said. “Our intent is to continue to strengthen our business across all our markets through new innovations. The ambition is also to create operational leverage and efficiencies across the full value chain. I am looking forward to working with the team to achieve further successes in the years to come.”
Gant was founded in New Haven, Conn., by Bernard Gantmacher and his wife, and for the past decade or more it has been more popular overseas than it has been in the U.S. Since 2008, it has been controlled by the family-owned Swiss company Maus Frères — which also owns Lacoste and Aigle.
Three years ago, Gant had a presence in 70 countries with 552 stores and 4,000 points of sale. Its net sales in 2014 were $1 billion.