What: Iguatemi names for the first time a non-family member and a female at the top post.

Why it is important: Even though Iguatemi is a mall operator, its challenges and points of attention are not far from many department stores’ in the world.

Cristina Betts is the first female and non-family member to be the CEO at Iguatemi, succeeding Carlos Jereissati. Iguatemi, a luxury shopping center company in Brazil, currently operates 14 malls, 2 outlets and various real estate locations.

It reports a 30% sales increase for Q2 2022 vs. the same period in 2019, with a stronger performance for apparel, shoes and leather goods which achieved a growth of 51%. This performance is allowed by the fact that 70% of the brands present at Iguatemi are local, and therefore relatively spared by the international issues. This combines with an increased conversion rate with customers realizing that buying in the country is actually equivalent, and more convenient, than buying internationally.

For her, the priorities are:

• Security in malls, especially given the fact that physical retail is here to stay,
• Combination with online, which, in the case of Iguatemi, means a marketplace for luxury brands,
• Being able to cater for the needs of all customers and not only luxury ones, through the right brand assortment and F&B or experience proposal.

Cristina Betts is the new CEO at Iguatemi