Holt Renfrew, Canada’s leading luxury retailer, has named Franco Savastano president and chief executive officer.

Savastano is an experienced multibrand retailer who had a seven-year stint as CEO of the Zurich-based department store Jelmoli, which was followed in late 2019 by his appointment as CEO of Globus, another Zurich-based department store.

In September 2024, the Central Group, a family-owned retail, property and hospitality conglomerate based in Thailand, took over all nine of Globus’ doors. Savastano’s tenure there was marked by the forging of new partnerships with luxury brands and store renovations.

Jelmoli permanently closed in February, after 126 years of operation. It was Switzerland’s oldest and largest department store.

Savastano’s arrival at the Toronto-based Holt Renfrew raises the possibility that the luxury chain takes on some new directions as it navigates the global luxury slump, rapidly changing consumer, macro-economic headwinds and the need to forge deeper integrations between brick-and-mortar and online operations. Holt Renfrew’s annual volume was pegged around 700 million Canadian dollars earlier this year. The company operates six stores: three in Toronto at 50 Bloor Street West, in the Yorkdale and Square One shopping centers; the Holt Renfrew Ogilvy store in Montreal; and in downtown Calgary and downtown Vancouver. Five locations were closed beginning in 2015 as market conditions became more difficult. Approximately 7 to 8 percent of Holt’s total business is generated by holtrenfrew.com.

The company is in a position to strengthen its upscale business due to the Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue closures in Canada in recent years.

“I am very honored, humbled and excited about the opportunity to join Holt Renfrew,” Savastano said in a statement. “I’ve long admired Holts and am eager to help build on its long legacy as Canada’s top lifestyle and luxury retailer. Together with the team we can continue delivering for Holts’ customers.”

Savastino succeeds Sebastian Picardo, who ran Holts for five years. Picardo joined Holt Renfrew at a time of unprecedented challenges including the pandemic, a slumping Canadian economy marked by stalled income growth and high inflation, rising prices on imports due to unfavorable exchange rates, changes in the communities Holts serves due to immigration, and the global luxury decline. But Picardo developed a comprehensive strategy and mission statement to attract more consumers and brand partners, while maintaining Holts’ luxury aura and reinforcing its social values. “In the last few years we’ve been gradually expanding our offer to bring products that have different price points, but still remain exceptional in the sense that they’re very special products,” Picardo told WWD during an interview in January. “We ask ourselves, is this product sustainable? Is this product new? Is this product diverse? Is this product Canadian? And can this product be available at Holt Renfrew only? We think of all these different things.”

Picardo’s departure from Holt Renfrew was announced last June when the company indicated he decided to return to Europe to be closer to his family and pursue other opportunities and would move to London.

“I am so pleased that Franco has been chosen as the next leader of Holt Renfrew. I’ve known Franco for some time and have found his leadership, industry knowledge and warmth incredibly impressive,” Picardo said in a statement.