Anthropologie appoints first-ever managing director

Anthropologie lay the foundation for growth abroad. The American retailer, owned by the Urban Outfitters Group, has named its first-ever managing director for international business, looking for growth opportunities outside of North America, according to WWD.

Peter Ruis, former chief executive officer of clothing retail chain Jigsaw, will oversee Anthropologie’s global expansion from this newly created position. The executive is an industry veteran, who worked during eight years as menswear buying director at John Lewis. Before that, Ruis headed Levi Strauss’ business in Europe, Middle East and Asia.

The new managing director will try to boost the company’s presence abroad, especially in Europe. “The idea is to create much more of a standalone, international hub in London”, Ruis said. “For the first time, we’ll be creating our own designs and developing products in London, and we’ll be having a more bespoke point of view that’s specific to Europe,” he added.

Peter Ruis will oversee Anthropologie’s expansion abroad, with a keen focus on Europe

Changes at the helm of Anthropologie have been common in recent months. After the departure of its chief executive officer in April, David McCreight, the group created a double-headed structure, led by Hillary Super, the retailers’ former fashion and accessories director, and Andrew Carnie, who was in charge of homewear and international business.

Anthropologie ended fiscal 2017 with revenues of 1.47 billion dollars (1.2 billion euros), exceeding Urban Outfitters’ sales for the same period. On January 31, 2018, Anthropologie operated with 226 stores in the United States, Canada and Europe. In the first quarter of fiscal 2018, Anthropologie sales reached 347.1 million dollars (294.4 million euros), up 4.8%.