Sissy Boy CEO and CFO to leave company

By

Shomara Roosblad

Published
Jan 30, 2018

Dutch retailer Sissy Boy has announced that its current CEO Victor van Nieuwenhuizen and CFO/COO Rogier Wijnhoven are leaving the company this spring.

Van Nieuwenhuizen will be succeeded in the interim by Jop Pollman, CEO at Brand Retail Group (formerly Varova Fashion Holding and former owner of Sissy Boy) and member of the board at Sissy Boy.

Van Nieuwenhuizen and Wijnhoven have been involved with Sissy Boy since 2012, after investor Varova took over the shares of the late founder Michael Smit. Since then the Sissy Boy brand ‘transformed’, opening flagship stores, shops at train stations and expanded its range with home accessories, food and gifts. According to the retailer, the turnover has doubled in the last five years.

Victor van Nieuwenhuizen said about his departure: “I am proud that in this rapidly changing market I have been able to shape the beautiful brand Sissy Boy with a group of fantastic people and expand it to where it now stands: an innovative lifestyle formula with great relevance in the retail landscape and international allure. The personal decision to leave was not easy, but after more than five years the time has come to move on. I will miss the brand and especially the people. Fortunately, as a fan of the brand, I will remain a lifelong ambassador.”

Rogier Wijnhoven, said: “Since my start in 2012, I have worked with great energy and enthusiasm to help shape the turn-around and revitalization of Sissy Boy. A turbulent period in which important steps have been taken that have strengthened the foundation and the brand value of Sissy-Boy. [Leaving] was a difficult decision, because Sissy Boy is a wonderful organization with great colleagues, but after five years, I'm ready for a new challenge.”

In November 2017 Varova, which was renamed Brand Retail Group, sold the chain together with Open32 and Tumble 'N Dry to Standard Investments. Standard Investment manages a portfolio of fifteen companies, including Riedel, Synres, Aweta and Flatfield, which together employ a total of more than 3,000 people and have a turnover of 500 million euros.

Sissy Boy launched in 1982.  The retailer operates about 40 of its own stores in the Netherlands and Belgium as well as a web shop. Both Victor van Nieuwenhuizen and Rogier Wijnhoven will remain involved at Sissy Boy as shareholders.