Selfridges Group appoints KaDeWe Group chief executive as new CEO

André Maeder has been named as the new CEO of Selfridges Group following its acquisition last year.

Maeder will take on the role from the spring after stepping down from his current position as chief executive and managing director of KaDeWe Group on November 1. KaDeWe Group is also owned by Selfridges Group’s parent company, Central Group.

Selfridges Group was acquired in August 2022 by a consortium comprising Thailand’s Central Group and Austrian-based property company Signa Group in a deal reported to be worth 4 billion pounds.

The deal included Selfridges’ European retail businesses in the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands, including the indirect parent of the company, SHEL Holdings Europe Limited.

KaDeWe Group chief joins Selfridges Group

In Maeder’s new role, which he’ll begin on May 1, he will be located in London and will manage and coordinate the banners of the European group, which currently consists of Selfridges in the UK, De Bijenkorf in the Netherlands, and Brown Thomas Arnotts in Ireland.

Since joining KaDeWe Group in 2014, Maeder has been credited with driving and implementing the transformation of the group’s three luxury department stores, KaDeWe in Berlin, Alsterhaus in Hamburg, and Oberpollinger in Munich.

Michael Peterseim, the managing director and chief financial officer of KaDeWe Group, will take over as CEO and chair from November 1.

KaDeWe Group also announced two additional executive appointments as it looks to expand and strengthen its leadership team.

Janina Schüßler has been promoted to director of marketing communications, while Julia Lehmann has been promoted to director of merchandise management, which also includes responsibility for logistics.

Both will begin their new positions on November 1.