SMCP Group has recruited a luxury veteran to lead the charge in Asia, WWD has learned.
The French group, parent of fashion brands Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot and Fursac, has named Kleine Tan chief executive officer of SMCP Asia with immediate effect.
Tan was most recently president of Loewe Asia, and has worked for a host of European luxury brands out of Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.
He will be based in Hong Kong and report to Isabelle Guichot, CEO of SMCP, and is charged with implementing its “strategic road map in the region, notably our network optimization in China,” she said in a statement shared first with WWD.
“Having lived and worked in Asia for the past two decades, Kleine brings a solid international perspective and a deep understanding of the retail and wholesale dynamics across the Asia-Pacific region,” she said. “I am confident that Kleine will bring a new pragmatic and expert vision to the table, seizing potential new opportunities and inspiring the teams to reach new milestones.”
Kleine Tan
Courtesy of SMCP Group
Tan succeeds Jimmy Lam, who “has decided to pursue new opportunities outside the group,” according to SMCP. Lam’s next move could not immediately be learned.
In the statement, Guichot thanked Lam “for his unwavering commitment over the past eight years with the group.”
Tan began his career in 1999 at Louis Vuitton in retail and merchandising, later joining Burberry, holding various regional roles in retail operations and merchandising. In 2010, he moved to Prada and Miu Miu, ultimately becoming Givenchy’s managing director for Asia-Pacific, where he “led the strategic turnaround and growth of the business in the region,” according to SMCP, also crediting Tan for playing a “pivotal” role in Loewe’s recent expansion and performance in Asia.
Tan said he looks forward to “working closely with the teams on the ground to build on the strong foundations already in place” and to “continue driving the development of our brands across the region.”
SMCP recently completed a round of store closings in China as part of a resizing plan in what was once its biggest growth market.
The group’s organic revenues rose 1.9 percent to 334 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2024, and it has characterized 2025 as a recovery year.
