Selfridges CEO Keith to step down, group CEO Maeder steps in

Andrew Keith is quitting as CEO of the Selfridges division of Selfridges Group with the group’s chief executive André Maeder replacing him. He’s leaving this autumn to pursue new ventures.

Selfridges has four UK department stores while the group also includes De Bijenkorf in the Netherlands, and Brown Thomas Arnotts in Ireland.

Tos Chirathivat, who’s chairman of the wider business as well as executive chairman of its majority owner Central Group, said: “With over 30 years of executive experience in retail, André brings a strong track record and an extensive knowledge of the sector and global brands to his new role.

“We are also grateful to Andrew Keith for his contribution to the success of our iconic UK business. He has been an invaluable member of the Selfridges team, leading the business out of the Covid lockdowns and through its acquisition in 2022. We thank Andrew for his hard work and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.”

The news was first reported by WWD citing an internal memo that it had seen.

Keith joined the firm as MD in 2020 and took up the CEO post in February 2021. Maeder has been in his current parent company role since May this year and that 30 years of experience referred to includes him having been CEO of German department store business KaDeWe Group, which Central also controls.

The departing CEO has been in charge during one of the toughest periods in the retailer’s history, including the pandemic, several waves of job cuts, the sale to the Central Group and Signa Group consortium (followed by Signa’s spectacular fall from grace), and tough times in the luxury sector generally.

While overseeing bold moves such as the chain’s pivot to a guiding sustainability strategy, Keith has also had to deal with a difficult sales environment compounded by the end of tax-free shopping for tourists in the UK. It lost almost £40 million in its latest financial year, even though sales rose almost 30%.