Loblaw taps new president for Joe Fresh brand

Loblaw, owner of the Joe Fresh brand, has promoted Mario Grauso to president of Joe Fresh. He was previously chief operating officer of the brand.



Grauso will continue to report to Joe Mimran, president of Joseph Mimran & Associates and creative director of Joe Fresh. In his new role, Grauso oversees business strategy, operations, marketing, international development, merchandising, sourcing and design functions at Joe Fresh.



The promotion is part of a company-wide management reorganization at Loblaw. As part of the changes, executive chairman Galen Weston has assumed the additional role of president of Loblaw, where he is now responsible for execution of the company’s overall strategy and business performance. He takes on the role from Vicente Trius, who is exiting the company to return to his native Brazil.



“Since joining Joe Fresh in September 2013, Mario Grauso has managed the successful growth of Joe Fresh, in partnership with Joe Mimran,” said Weston. “Throughout the past 10 months, the brand has opened stores in South Korea and Saudi Arabia, with an extensive international rollout plan in place. Joe Fresh continues to solidify its U.S. presence and will launch e-commerce there next month. Mario is a proven leader in the fashion industry and I look forward to his continued guidance of Joe Fresh as it expands into a compelling global presence in specialty retail.”



Since May, Joe Fresh and its partners have opened retail stores in Seoul, South Korea; the Sahara Mall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and the Mall of Dhahran in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. A unit in the Mall of Arabia in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to open later this month. Joe Fresh partners are committed to opening more than 140 stores in 23 countries during the next five years.



Prior to joining Joe Fresh, Grauso was president of Vera Wang Group. Earlier in his career he was president of Puig Fashion, the parent company of Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci and Paco Rabanne.



Founded in 2006, Joe Fresh offers lifestyle collections for men, women and children. In Canada, Joe Fresh products are available online and in more than 340 retail locations, including 16 freestanding and studio stores. In the United States, Joe Fresh operates six freestanding stores in New York, including a flagship in the 510 Fifth Avenue building, and is also available in more than 650 J.C. Penney stores.