Mulberry Group delivered a surprise on Tuesday with news that its long-serving CEO is exiting with immediate effect and a replacement has been named.

The luxury bags brand said Andrea Baldo “has been appointed to the Mulberry board as Chief Executive Officer, replacing Thierry Andretta who is stepping down from the board and leaving the company”.

Andretta joined as CEO in 2015.

UK-based Baldo has over 20 years’ experience leading brands in the fashion industry and was most recently CEO and Executive Director of Ganni from 2018 until this year.

He “drove the international growth of the business through a focus on retail network development, product innovation, and a sharpening of the brand identity to increase customer engagement”.

Prior to this he was at Coccinelle from 2016-2018 and Marni Group from 2013-2016. We’re told that at both firms he “redefined the strategic priorities for the businesses, ultimately leading to improved sales and profitability performance”.

He also held leadership positions at Diesel for over 10 years including as COO of its US operation.

While Andretta is leaving immediately, his replacement doesn’t join until the beginning of September.

Chairman Chris Roberts said: “Following our search process, it was clear that Andrea’s international fashion brand expertise, creativity and strategic thinking meant he was absolutely the right person for this role. I’d also like to thank Thierry for his contribution to the business.”

He didn’t give a reason for Andretta’s departure.

In its latest trading update in May, the company had said the year to the end of March saw sales falling 4%, or 2.7% at constant exchange rates (CER), while gross margins were maintained around the level reported for the first half of the year.

Retail sales rose 0.3% (or 1.9% CER) with international retail sales up 7.2% (or 11% CER) and the UK down 3.2%.

It will be loss-making for the year and Andretta said the company “has not been immune to the broader downturn in luxury spending experienced in recent months, particularly in the UK and Asia”.

He said the situation would continue in the short term as well.

The firm’s full-year results haven’t yet been published, even though in 2023 they were released in late June.