Luxury goods retailer Mulberry has appointed a new chief executive who will join in March.

Bruno Guillon will replace incumbent chief executive and chairman Godfrey Davis, who will continue as non-executive chairman after a three month handover period.

Guillon joins Mulberry from French luxury brand  Hermès Sellier SARL where he is managing director of French subsidiary Hermès France, a position he has held for four years. He joined Hermès in 2001 having previously worked at LVMH and Nina Ricci.

Panmure Gordon analyst Philip Dorgan welcomed the appointment which “makes perfect sense” and said “it is logicial for Mulberry to seek to add to its top management team someone with the right global brand management skills”.

Dorgan maintained: “This should enable it to move on to the next stage of its development, which is to become a truly global brand with sales of over £1bn, rather than barely more than £100m.” 

Davis said: “We have planned our management succession carefully and have been actively searching for the right candidate since the beginning of this year.

“Bruno brings with him a wealth of luxury goods experience and an ability to drive our ambitious plans for international growth.”

Guillon said: “[Mulberry] is a great English brand with a unique heritage and an exceptional opportunity for growth.”