Patrick Seghin
CEO of Damartex Group Patrick Seghin shares how the company has been able to secure its position within the challenging retail industry.
Damartex can trace its origins back to 1953 when its main brand Damart was founded by the Despature brothers in France as a company that primarily manufactured thermal clothing. Today, the Damartex group employs around 4,000 people worldwide, with around 650 of these in the United Kingdom. In 1976, the company went public, listing on the Paris Stock Exchange. In 2003, Damartex celebrated its 50th anniversary, with 130 stores across Europe and an active customer base of 10 million.
Since its establishment, Damartex has remained true to the values of its founders, focusing on the customer ahead of everything while putting innovation and entrepreneurship at the heart of how the business operates. This approach has served the organisation well, particularly as the pace of business continues to increase and become more dynamic.
Patrick Seghin, CEO of Damartex Group, has been with the organisation for six years now, coming from a strong background in retail operations, which includes many years with major office-supply chain store, Staples. I started my career with Shell, spending 10 years on the non-fuel part of the business: convenience stores, and restaurants. After a start in Bruxelles, Belgium, I had the great chance to work in Budapest, Hungary, and then London, UK.