Lacoste chief executive José-Luis Duran departs

Maus Frères Group, the parent group of Lacoste, has confirmed that José-Luis Duran, chief executive of the apparel brand has stepped down from his role and will be replaced by former CEO of Conforama, Thierry Guibert.

Duran will be “leaving his role at the group to dedicated himself to some personal projects,” said Maus Frères in a statement, while not adding any additional reasons for the surprise departure.

Maus Frères’ acquired French brand Lacoste at the end of 2012, valuing the company at around one billion euros. Prior to that Lacoste had still been part-owned by descendants of the brand’s founder and famous tennis player René Lacoste.

Guibert, who has spent the majority of his career at Kering, serving as group management control director in 2003, financial director, then general director of FNAC between 2006 and 2008, joins Lacoste from homeware retailer Conforama where he has held the position of chairman and chief executive since June 2008.