HBC’s Don Watros and Supervisory Board Members to Work Closely with GALERIA Kaufhof GmbH CEO Olivier Van den Bossche and his Leadership Team to Dramatically Enhance the Customer Experience and Drive Growth across the GALERIA Kaufhof GmbH Banners
COLOGNE, GERMANY, 2015-10-1 — /EPR Retail News/ — The Supervisory Board of GALERIA Kaufhof GmbH (“GALERIA Kaufhof Group” or “the Company”), including the banners GALERIA Kaufhof, Galeria INNO and Sportarena, along with DINEA, today announced that it has elected Donald W. (Don) Watros, President of HBC International, as its Chairman, effective immediately. The successful completion of Hudson’s Bay Company’s (TSX: HBC) acquisition of GALERIA Kaufhof Group from METRO GROUP was announced yesterday. The Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board is Uwe Hoepfel, Head of the Joint Workers Council of GALERIA Kaufhof.
Mr. Watros said, “We are delighted to officially welcome our new colleagues at GALERIA Kaufhof Group into the HBC family. We have great respect for the Company’s heritage in the German and Belgian markets and enormous confidence in its successful future. I look forward to working with the highly talented leadership team, led by Olivier Van den Bossche, to execute on our plans and take the GALERIA Kaufhof Group banners to a new level of growth and success.”
In addition to Mr. Watros, nine additional representatives of HBC were elected to the Supervisory Board, replacing the former METRO GROUP representatives. They join the ten GALERIA Kaufhof Group employee representatives on the Supervisory Board.
About Donald W. Watros
Donald W. Watros has spent his entire career in finance and operations within the retail space. He has served in senior leadership roles on both the private equity side as well as within retail companies themselves.
He currently serves as President of Hudson’s Bay Company’s international unit. Hudson’s Bay Company is one of North America’s most extensive retail networks. Prior to this, he was President of Hudson’s Bay Company. Donald joined Hudson’s Bay Company in 2008 as Chief Operating Officer after serving for several years as the Managing Director of Retail Operations for NRDC Equity Partners. During his tenure at NRDC, he participated in the acquisitions of Lord and Taylor and Hudson’s Bay Company. Donald was also involved on streamlining the operations of the Company.
Donald began his retail career at the May Company in Merchandise Planning for the Hecht’s division based in Arlington, VA. He served in various financial posts in multiple divisions of the May Company, leaving his final post in 1994 as the Director of Financial Planning at Hecht’s to join Saks Fifth Avenue’s corporate offices. He was promoted through the financial and operational ranks of Saks and left the company in 2005 as Chief Administrative Officer. Since then, and during the time he was Chief Operating Officer of Hudson’s Bay Company, Donald participated in the successful acquisition of Saks Incorporated.
Mr. Watros holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University, majoring in Applied Economics and Business Management and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from SUNY Binghamton.
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About GALERIA Kaufhof Group
GALERIA Kaufhof Group, with its headquarters in Cologne, Germany, is a leading European department store company. With its innovative and successful Galeria concept, the Company offers a modern shopping experience. GALERIA Kaufhof Group, with 21,500 employees, currently operates 102 GALERIA Kaufhof department stores, 60 DINEA restaurants, and 16 Sportarena stores in Germany as well as 16 Galeria INNO department stores in Belgium. Since October 1, 2015, GALERIA Kaufhof Group is part of the premier global department store retailer Hudson’s Bay Company (TSX: HBC). More Information is available under: galeria-kaufhof.de.
About Hudson’s Bay Company
Hudson’s Bay Company (TSX: HBC) is one of the fastest-growing department store retailers in the world, based on its successful formula of driving the performance of high quality stores and their all-channel offerings, unlocking the value of real estate holdings and growing through acquisitions. Founded in 1670, HBC is the oldest company in North America. With the recent completion of its acquisition of GALERIA Kaufhof Group, HBC’s portfolio today includes eight banners, in formats ranging from luxury to better department stores to off price, with more than 460 stores and 65,000 employees around the world.
In North America, HBC’s leading banners include Hudson’s Bay, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks OFF 5TH, along with Home Outfitters. In Europe, its banners include GALERIA Kaufhof, the largest department store group in Germany, Belgium’s only department store group Galeria INNO, as well as Sportarena.
HBC has significant investments in real estate joint ventures. It has partnered with Simon Property Group Inc. in HBS Global Properties Joint Venture, which owns properties in the United States and Germany. In Canada, it has partnered with RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust in the RioCan-HBC Joint Venture.
Media/Investor Contacts:
FOR GALERIA Kaufhof Group
MEDIA RELATIONS:
Gerd Koslowski
Head of Corporate Communications
Phone: +49 (0)221 223-5595
Email: gerd.koslowski@kaufhof.de
FOR HBC
MEDIA RELATIONS:
Tiffany Bourré
Director, External Communications
Phone: (905) 595-7184
Email: tiffany.bourre@hbc.com
Hering Schuppener
Dirk von Manikowsky
Phone : +49 (0)211 43079-265
Email: dvonmanikowsky@heringschuppener.com
INVESTOR RELATIONS:
Phone: (416) 256-6745
Email: investorrelations@hbc.com