Chanel: Stéphane Blanchard, named president of U.S. region and Chanel, Inc.

Chanel has appointed a new president of the United States. The French luxury brand didn't have to look far, as it chose one of its own managers, a long-time leader who joined the group 30 years ago. Stéphane Blanchard is currently general manager of Chanel Korea and has extensive international experience. The information has been confirmed by the company.

Chanel says that "Stephane Blanchard has been appointed president of the United States region and Chanel, Inc. effective September 1, 2023. He will report to Leena Nair, global CEO of Chanel, and will join the company's global leadership team."
 
The company wasted no time in announcing the departure of John Galantic, president and COO of Chanel, Inc. last week via an internal memo, "who has decided to leave the company after sixteen years to pursue external career opportunities. Galantic will remain in his position until June 30."

For the past seven years, Stephane Blanchard has led South Korea, where he has, among other things, "launched transformative initiatives in talent development and culture, customer engagement, retail flexibility and sustainability, while driving significant business growth. He has also led digital and data processing across the Asia-Pacific region," the brand said in a note.
 
The company highlights his "excellent reputation as a multi-cultural, versatile and agile leader," managing "to build strong teams and deliver solid performance across multiple markets." Before taking the reins of South Korea, Blanchard was also general manager of Chanel Russia and CIS, as well as Chanel Germany.

The American market is important for the brand. In fact Chanel has decided to unveil its new 2023/24 cruise collection, with a show scheduled for Tuesday May 9 in Los Angeles. This marks the brand's return to California, where it is preparing to open "a new chapter in its history with the United States, sixteen years after the 2007/08 cruise show by Karl Lagerfeld in the heart of the Santa Monica airport," as announced at the beginning of the year.