Hudson's Bay appoints CEO for Europe

Hudson's Bay Company, the Canadian department store group, announced it has appointed a new European chief executive officer.

Wolfgang Link will commence in the role effective May 1st and report directly to HBC's global CEO Jerry Storch.

HBC currently operates Galeria Kaufhof and Galeria Inno in Germany and Belgium respectively, in addition to opening a chain of stores in the Netherlands later this year.

At the same time Galeria Kaufhof’s CEO Olivier Van den Bossche is stepping down from his post, although a successor has not yet been named.

In an official statement Thursday, Richard Baker, governor and executive chairman of HBC, emphasized the group “continues to stand behind our long-term strategy for Europe and behind the announcement that we will be investing 1 billion euros in Germany in the next five to seven years.”

The launch of Saks Off 5th will first debut in Düsseldorf this summer, followed by Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Heidelberg and Wiesbaden, as well as in the Netherlands. HBC has said it can envision up to 40 Saks Off 5th doors opening in Germany over the next few years.