Takao Kuwahara official President of Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam

By

Anaïs Lerévérend

Published
Mar 14, 2016

He now formally chairs both Uniqlo Europe, Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam. In just a few months, Takao Kuwahara has taken the reins of the three entities owned by Fast Retailing in Europe. 

He had been appointed CEO Uniqlo Europe in September 2015 following the departure of Berndt Hauptkorn, and was named interim president of Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam in October, following the short departure of their president Christophe Chenut. Fast Retailing has thus turned this interim presidency into an official one, all while maintaining Kuwahara role as president of Uniqlo Europe.

This decision reflects the difficulty Fast Retailing has encountered to integrate external collaborators as executives. It is indeed an internal candidate who finally took the reins, following many years of instability at the head of Princesse Tam Tam and Comptoir des Cotonniers. The division consisting of the two French brands has seen a number of directors. Takao Kuwahara will be its fourth president since 2011.