S.Oliver Group's CEO steps down

By

Rüdiger Oberschür

Translated by
Cassidy STEPHENS

Published
Dec 6, 2022

Four sentences and not a word of thanks: Claus-Dietrich Lahrs is leaving his role as CEO at the S.Oliver Group after three years. The corresponding press release could hardly have been shorter.

The Rottendorf-based group, which is owned by the founder Bernd Freier's family wants to announce the new management team soon. Freier, the 76-year-old self-made billionaire, may once again hold a crucial management role himself.

Meanwhile, the industry is feverishly speculating about how much tension has developed between Freier and the former executive in recent months.

For those who wondered in 2019 how one can go from Bottega Veneta to S.Oliver, from luxury to mainstream so easily, it may not come as a surprise. Indeed, Lahrs developed a retail strategy, which included among other things the construction of the new central warehouse in Dettelbach, which enabled an optimization of the group's logistics process.

In the end, the 20% drop in sales during 2020 and the major delivery delays of more than four weeks last summer were probably the decisive factors.