Lagardère Travel Retail Romania appoints its first Romanian CEO

Marius Vacalau will be appointed CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail Romania as of 1st of November 2019, the company has announced. Having been part of the management team for the past 12 years and Company COO since 2011, Marius Vacalau will replace Stefan Picard, who will take over the position of Executive Vice President Commercial Development & Transformation of Duty Free Global, part of Lagardère Group.

Lagardère Travel Retail Romania has been going through significant expansion since 2010, including the diversification of business lines and the growth of retail space portfolio from 50 stores in 2010 to over 270 in 2019.

“Both myself and Stefan Picard, as an extraordinary team, believed in the development of the store network and in the optimization of the two business lines, which have brought us success. We will continue to find new locations and innovative concepts and products over the next years, in order to best respond to the needs of consumers on the go. The Big See Interior Design Award 2019 for Hospitality granted to the Neighbourgoods projects (located in The Bridge Business Center), a concept fully created by Lagardère Travel Retail, confirms our straight to the point focus on the experience we create for our customers. We want the quality of our products and services to speak for us and we wish to remain a standard of excellence for the convenience and food-to-go segments,” said Marius Vacalau.

The first Romanian CEO of the company joined the team in 2007, as Commercial Director (with a focus on purchasing and marketing) reporting directly to the CEO. In 2011, Marius Vacalau took over the position of COO, integrating coordination of the operations of the two business lines and the expansion of the store network. The transition to CEO came naturally, considering his extended experience in Lagardère business, and his contribution to the company’s growth.

“The Lagardère Travel Retail Romania experience is unique! We wished to turn 1 Minute and Inmedio into powerful brands, with extended store networks, and their evolution has fully met the objectives we set. I wish good luck to Marius and I am confident he will continue to grow the platform encompassing Lagardère brands!” stated Stefan Picard, future Executive Vice President Commercial Development & Transformation of Duty Free Global, part of Lagardère Group.

Stefan Picard joined Lagardere Group in 1996, from Montreal. after handling various positions within the Group, he took over as CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail Romania in 2010 and led the company through prosperous times. He will join as of 1st of November Duty Free Global team, as Executive Vice President Commercial Development & Transformation reporting directly to DFG CEO, as member of the Executive Committee.

With an experience of over 20 years on the Romanian market, Lagardère Travel Retail is an active player in retail and foodservice, with a vast portfolio of proprietary brands. The varied brand range operated by the two business lines – Travel Essentials and Foodservice – offer tailor-made solutions and are focused on the specific needs of customers on the go.