Profile: William Kim, chief executive, All Saints

New All Saints chief executive William Kim is charged with spurring the fashion retailer into a new era when he joins the business next month.

Taking up the reins on October 15, Kim is in the process of developing a vision to expand the retailer’s presence in the US and Asian markets and beef up its digital operations.

His appointment, which was revealed last week just days after his current employer Burberry issued a surprise profit warning, comes at a key point for both businesses.

As Burberry battles a slowing Chinese economy, it is a blow for the luxury brand to lose Kim. He has strong knowledge of the Asian market, having played a significant part in Burberry’s growth in the region as vice-president and representative director for Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and Asia Travel Retail.

For All Saints, his appointment will come as a respite for interim chief executive Peter Wood, who has been in position since he began covering for former chief executive Stephen Craig, who left in September 2011.

Kim’s appointment is the final piece in the executive jigsaw after a raft of changes to the management team this year, including the appointments of global ecommerce director Esther Soto, retail director for the UK and Europe Tracey Mann, global supply chain director Deborah Keiser and global buying and merchandising director Matthew Corin.

Kim will doubtless relish the challenge of moving from the US, where he is based at present, to London and getting stuck into work at one of the UK’s most idiosyncratic retailers. His experience spans a number of iconic brands and his time managing their expansion into new markets will have appealed to All Saints, as building its business abroad and retaining its core principles is no mean feat.

Kim began his career at accountants Coopers & Lybrand after studying accounting and international business at the University of Colorado in the early 1990s.

With a strong grounding in finance, he took his first foray into retail working for Alexander McQueen at the Gucci Group.

Over a seven-year period, Kim progressed at Gucci to become chief financial officer of its luxury watches and jewellery division, before becoming vice-president and chief financial officer of the group.

He further bolstered his experience in fashion with an eight-month stint as director of stores at Ohio-basedAbercrombie & Fitch, where he gained shopfloor experience and expanded the retailer’s operations in Japan before taking up the Asia role at Burberry.

All Saints’ owners – a consortium of investors led by Lion Capital, which bought the business for £105m last year – will be keen for Kim to bring his extensive brand experience to the role and to lead expansion online and internationally.

Lion Capital partner Lyndon Lea described Kim as an “ideal choice” for the role. “His experience of working at leading global fashion brands in the core retail markets of Asia, Americas and Europe coupled with his expertise in the digital space will be invaluable,” he says.

Lea believes Kim’s “innovative outlook” will help “unlock the full potential of the All Saints brand”. Openings in Vancouver and Toronto are on the horizon and the retailer is looking for stores in Tokyo.

A key element of Kim’s expertise is his strength in digital retailing. Burberry has been a pioneer in using social media to reveal new product ranges and engage with ardent followers of the brand. Kim says: “I see growth in digital, with further innovations down the road.”

Kim says he is keen to retain “the purity of the brand” and extend the product mix. A new phase of growth looks likely at All Saints.