Pimkie reshuffles its management team

The women’s fashion brand has announced its new organization, following the departure in July of Sandrine Lilienfeld, who was Pimkie’s CEO for only five months. Salih Halassi, president of Pimkinvest, the structure created by Kindy, Lee Cooper France and Ibisler Tekstil to acquire the brand in February 2023, is taking on the role of CEO and appointing Elodie Chelle as deputy general manager.

A specialist in company turnarounds, Salih Halassi left the helm of Kindy in December 2022, the sock specialist he had relaunched in 2017, to focus on the takeover of Pimkie, sold by the Mulliez family.

Elodie Chelle joins Pimkie from Don’t Call Me Jennyfer, where she had been upstream operations director in charge of purchasing, supply chain and offer since 2018. Previously, the 40-year-old Edhec and IFM graduate was director of procurement at lingerie chain Undiz for two years, after working as a consultant for retail specialist Aliznet (advising brands such as Eram and Gémo).

The buyers’ ambition is still “to make Pimkie the accessible brand preferred by young women, committed to more sustainable consumption and based on an evolving model that is resilient to crises.”

The relaunch of the brand is to be achieved by working on pricing, a new storytelling strategy on the Internet, and also by bringing production closer together, with the aim of having 40% of its products imported from close countries by 2025. On the CSR front, the company plans to offer 100% eco-designed products for its essentials line within three years, and aims to extend second-hand sales to its entire network within two years.
 
“To drive our transformation, we are instilling a new corporate culture based on creativity and innovation, agility and the right to make mistakes. We draw our strength from Pimkie’s DNA. […] More than ever, we will place our customers and our offer at the heart of all our strategic decisions,” comments Elodie Chelle.
 
A savings plan is also on the agenda. It involves the elimination of 64 stores and 257 positions over the period 2023-2027. With a network of 426 stores, 302 of which are in France, Pimkie generated sales of 319 million euros in 2022, according to the company.