New leadership at Damartex to address financial challenges and debt

French group Damartex, based in Roubaix, has announced a change in its leadership with the appointment of Anne-Sylvie Hubert and Filiep Blontrock. The company is also undertaking a fundamental review of its operations.

Anne-Sylvie Hubert, formerly of Kiabi and KPMG and chief financial officer of the Damartex group since 2023, has been appointed president of the executive board.

Filiep Blontrock, managing director of Damart and with the group since 2013, becomes a member of the executive board and managing director of Damartex.

“I am taking on these new responsibilities with determination within a group I know well, which has a recognised history and expertise,” the new president stated in the press release. “Together with Filiep, in this demanding environment, we will diligently undertake this strategic review of our activities. We thank the supervisory board for its confidence and look forward to tackling this work with our teams.”

Anne-Sylvie Hubert replaces Nicolas Marchand, who left his position in mid-May 2026. In the press release, Jean-Guillaume Despature, chairman of the supervisory board, thanked Marchand and welcomed the appointment of the new executive board: “Anne-Sylvie and Filiep will be able to draw on their expertise and in-depth knowledge of the group and its markets to lead its development in the face of the challenges in our markets.”

Turnover down 1.9 percent to 279.3 million euros in first half of 2025-2026

Damartex has three business divisions: the Fashion division (Damart, Xandres); the Home & Lifestyle division (3 Pagen, Vitrine Magique, Coopers of Stortford); and the Healthcare division (Almadia, Santéol, MSanté).

The group recorded a net loss of 17.7 million euros for the 2024/2025 financial year, while its turnover continued to decline. It fell by 0.6 percent for the full 2024/2025 financial year, followed by a 1.9 percent drop in the first half of 2025-2026 and a 5 percent decrease in the third quarter of 2025-2026.

Certain divisions are facing greater difficulties, particularly the Home & Lifestyle division, where sales fell by 7.2 percent in the first half of 2025-2026. At the same time, the group's net debt still exceeded 100 million euros, standing at 102.8 million euros at the end of December 2025.

The stated objectives are to strengthen the portfolio's coherence, focus investments and support Damartex's development. This is intended to “streamline the balance sheet to achieve a more sustainable level of debt.”

The new executive board will conduct a thorough review of the Damartex portfolio. It will cover all of the group's activities in the coming months. The next steps will be detailed during the presentation of the annual results in September 2026.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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