Francis Belin is a fashion outsider. That was, in part, what made former Mytheresa CEO Michael Kliger select him as his successor. Kliger himself was ascending to lead LuxExperience, the newly formed parent company created following Mytheresa’s acquisition of competitor Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP).
Stakes were high amid the transition. YNAP had toiled for years under the ownership of Richemont, the luxury group that seemed not to know what to do with a fully online retailer. And Mytheresa was in a rare position: as others of its ilk faced fire sales and bankruptcies, Mytheresa continued to see growth, reporting a 9% increase to just over $1 billion in annual sales for 2025. Maintaining that positioning, while reaching into untapped opportunities, is Belin’s main imperative as CEO of Mytheresa as it and YNAP settle into their post-merger era. He joined Mytheresa in January after spending nearly 10 years at auction house Christie’s, where he worked most recently as the president of Asia-Pacific.
Belin joined the Vogue Business Global Summit in Chantilly, France, on May 12 to discuss the interview that landed him the role, the first six months on the job, his outlook on physical retail, and what he’s learned about catering to VICs. Mytheresa is known for its robust clienteling calendar, which typically involves partnering with brands to bring customers to fabulous locations, for the experience and, maybe, to shop. Already, Belin is embracing this modus operandi: just after the summit, he left for a VIC event with Brioni on the Amalfi Coast.
Vogue: I’m sure you’re fully immersed at Mytheresa now, but I’d like to go back to your interview. Why did you want to take this job?
Francis Belin: I think it went OK. Interestingly, it was very quick. I actually only had three interviews: two with Michael Kliger and one with the board. And it was a fascinating process, because I don’t have a fashion background, and I don’t have an e-commerce background. So it was a journey of discovery of what the industry is all about, what’s happening, and what changes we can see.
You were referring to the challenges multi-brand retail is facing. There’s tremendous demand for multi-brand, but I also think there’s been confusion on what clients are looking for. But I think, one, we have a clear view of who that is, and we make sure we provide this customer exactly what they’re looking for in terms of curation and brand assortment. We don’t buy everything. We don’t buy what the brands want us to buy. We buy what we think our customer wants. In terms of service, we want to make sure that when you order at Mytheresa, you get the package as fast as possible, and returns are as fast as possible. Being able to execute this perfectly is the least we have to do. And then we have a third one, which is very distinctive for us, is that we invest more into the relationship, the emotional connection.
Vogue: You came from Christie’s. We’ve seen other fashion companies hiring executives from outside the industry. What vantage point do you think that background brings to your role and to the company?
Francis: My take is when I look at how we operate our business, e-commerce usually means fewer people, more algorithms, a screen just to click, to make everything simple. We take a different approach to this because of the importance of our relationship with our brands. We want to be top of mind when it comes to multi-brand retailing, and this is how we manage to get pre-launch exclusives, amazing events, and all these collaborations, because we have that relationship with brands.
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