DFS Group places Catherine Newey at the head of Europe

Change at the head of DFS Europe. The director of Le Bon Marché, Catherine Newey, takes over as general manager of the European subsidiary of DFS (Duty Free Shoppers), the brand of travel retail of LVMH. She succeeds Eléonore De Boysson, “who decided, after twenty-five years within the LVMH group, to pursue other opportunities outside the group”. For her part, Elodie Abrial, who holds the position of director of women’s fashion at Bon Marché, takes over from Catherine Newey and is promoted to commercial director of the Parisian department store.

Catherine Newey will take up her new role from June 17, reporting directly to Benjamin Vuchot, CEO of the DFS group. “She will be responsible for developing the strategic direction of European activities and strengthening the customer experience,” indicates the luxury giant in an internal memo.

A graduate in marketing from Paris Dauphine University and ECSP-EAP, the manager has extensive experience in the luxury and distribution sectors. She began her career in 1997 within the cosmetics giant L’Oréal as assistant product manager for Lancôme makeup and perfumes. A year later, she joined Printemps, – at the time the brand was owned by PPR (Kering) -, as watch product manager. She will climb through the ranks of department stores until being promoted to assistant purchasing director in 2012.

In 2014, she joined LVMH, first as accessories purchasing director for Louis Vuitton, then moving to Bon Marché in 2017, where she served as commercial director before being named director, responsible for overseeing the strengthening of the brand.

“Catherine has the perfect profile to lead our European activities and our iconic stores La Samaritaine and Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice. I am convinced that her keen sense of leadership will allow DFS to reach new milestones,” comments Benjamin Vuchot.

This change seems dictated by the desire to give new impetus to DFS Europe, and in particular to its two prestigious brands, which have never really taken off. The DFS group was particularly penalized by the Covid pandemic, which paralyzed air traffic and tourist flows.