C&A CEO Gina Boer leaves

Dutch fashion retailer C&A has announced the departure of its leader Gina Boer. She joined C&A Europe as CEO in 2021. Boer was not immediately replaced. Edward Brenninkmeijer, a member of the family that owns the Dutch group, took over as interim CEO before a new chief executive was appointed. Brenninkmeijer had been serving as interim CEO before Boer joined the group.

Boer, who previously worked at Ikea for more than 20 years, is leaving C&A to “focus on new opportunities in non-management positions,” the group said in a press release.

Allan Leighton, C&A Chairman, expressed his gratitude for “the energy, vision and 25 years of business experience that Gina Boer has brought to lead the transformation of C&A Europe. Any transformation of this scale is a challenge, but this one, in the wake of the pandemic and at a time of extraordinary change in the fashion retail industry, deserves particular recognition,” he said.

C&A operates over 1,300 stores in 17 European countries and employs 27,000 people. At the end of 2021, the group began modernization activities aimed at streamlining and modernizing its organization. In particular, it undertook to renovate 800 stores and plans to open around 100 new stores over the next three years.

In France, C&A’s second-largest market after Germany, the group operates almost 160 stores, including several food retail outlets. C&A recently opened its first store in France in 11 years, in a 1,000-square-meter (3,300-square-foot) location in Plaisir, in the Yvelines region. In 2023, the group closed two Parisian flagships, on boulevard Haussmann and rue de Rivoli.