Cath Kidston appoints its first Head of Latin America

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Aug 16, 2016

UK retailer Cath Kidston is taking its first step towards expanding into Latin American markets with the appointment of Michael Engelhaupt as its first Head of Latin America.

Engelhaupt joins the business from Under Armour International, where he was Head of Franchise International. In this role, he was responsible for leading the international franchise business, setting strategy and implementation of franchise business models for market entry.

He also worked for Adidas for ten years in roles including Franchise Senior Manager Latin America, based in Panama, and Global Retail Trainer, based in Germany.

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Engelhaupt will serve as Cath Kidston’s Head of Latin America from Panama City, Panama.

Kenny Wilson, CEO of Cath Kidston, said: “I am absolutely delighted that Michael is joining the Cath Kidston team. His appointment is significant and exciting. Cath Kidston does not as yet have any stores in the Americas and Michael is tasked with leading the expansion of the Cath Kidston brand into Latin America. Michael’s experience is very impressive and his appointment is another key development in our globalisation strategy.”

The appointment comes at a time of significant growth for Cath Kidston. The fashion and homeware label is opening its first two stores in India this autumn and further stores are being opened in Japan and the Middle East.

Commenting on his appointment, Michael Engelhaupt said: “I am very excited to be working on bringing Cath Kidston to Latin America. It is a brand which has great appeal overseas as we have seen from its tremendous success in Japan. I have worked in retail my entire career and been based in Panama since 2008. Having someone on the ground with the relationships and contacts is so important to making entry into a new market a success. This is a big project and I am delighted to be starting work”.

Cath Kidston currently operates stores in 18 countries, including China, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and the UK. The brand considers itself as “the home of modern vintage”.