A.P.C. appoints Pierre-Arnaud Grenade as president

One year after the L Catterton investment fund became a shareholder, French label A.P.C. has appointed a new president. The new man in charge is Pierre-Arnaud Grenade, who was at the helm of women’s ready-to-wear label Ba&sh for nine years. Grenade has joined the company led by Jean and Judith Touitou in early November. A new challenge for Grenade, who is moving from a Parisian affordable luxury brand to a designer label showing at Paris Fashion Week.

“I’ve been discovering the ins and outs of [A.P.C.] in the past fortnight,” said Grenade, contacted by FashionNetwork.com. “I liked [the label] a lot from the outside, and I’m appreciating what I’m finding out. [A.P.C.] is a unique label, with a very strong connection to culture and a maverick spirit. For me, the time was right to have a new experience in a more upmarket environment. I received a very kind welcome from the management team and the founders,” he added.

Grenade has replaced François-Cyrille de Rendinger and is working with Managing Director Joël Sraer. He is also renewing his connection with L Catterton, with which he collaborated for seven years at Ba&sh. Under Grenade’s stewardship, Ba&sh grew its revenue from €45 million to €310 million, increasing its global retail presence from 65 addresses to 320. Previously, Grenade had run the international business of La Française des Jeux and Oxbow, and was later in charge of brands such as Morgan and Princesse.tam.tam.

“For A.P.C., the challenge is scaling up. Its business volume is more modest than Ba&sh’s, but what interests me is not the size of the company, it’s the project. A.P.C. was born in 1987 and has a unique identity, and has never stopped being creative. I think that what interested the label’s main shareholder and founders was my ability to respect a brand’s heritage, working with its founders while growing the business,” said Grenade.

A.P.C. has not disclosed its financial results. The most recent documents on file reported sales of €82 million in 2021, with 88 monobrand stores worldwide. Online sales accounted for 30% of the total. According to head-hunting firm Meet & Match, which gave news of the appointment, A.P.C. generated revenue in excess of €100 million in 2023.