Galeries Lafayette puts Nicolas Morineaux in charge of Chinese market

French department store group Galeries Lafayette has placed Nicolas Morineaux, a luxury and finance expert with a strong track record in Asia, at the helm of its China business. Morineaux was hired in December 2023 as managing director of the group’s Chinese operations, comprising four branches, two of which, in Shenzhen and Chongqing, opened earlier this year.

A graduate of the ESSEC business school, Morineaux worked for 21 years at luxury giant LVMH, from 2001 to 2022. He was initially in charge of sales in Japan for Celine, before moving up the ranks to the position of vice-president finance for the group’s Asia-Pacific fashion division. Morineaux then worked for almost a year as sales director Asia of Van Cleef & Arpels, the jeweller owned by the Richemont group.

At Galeries Lafayette, he replaces Lawrence Shum, and his mission will be to accelerate the group’s expansion on the Chinese market, adopting an omni-channel and multi-universe approach.

Although it first entered China back in 2013, Galeries Lafayette inked a joint-venture deal in April with local real estate company Hopson Group, to drive forward the French group’s deployment in the country. The goal is to have a total of 10 branches in China by 2025, including one in Macau.

Galeries Lafayette currently operates 57 stores in France (of which 19 are directly owned and 38 with franchisees), as well as another 10 worldwide. It has recently decided to close its only address in Germany, in Berlin, and is planning to enter India in 2024, by opening department stores in Mumbai and New Delhi, again thanks to a partnership, this time with Indian group Aditya Birla.