What: Liberty has appointed Jean-Dominique Boffa as digital director to strengthen its online offer and integrate AI tools.

Why it is important: This shows how heritage department stores are using digital leadership and AI to modernise customer journeys while preserving their distinctive retail identities.

Liberty has appointed Jean-Dominique Boffa as digital director to accelerate its online development and introduce AI tools into the customer journey. Boffa joined the luxury department store in January after spending much of 2025 advising Liberty’s chief executive and board on growth and technology architecture. He previously worked at eBay, where he left in August 2024 as vice president of product and engineering, focusing on AI buyer experience, seller marketing, and advertising. Liberty managing director of retail Lydia King said his digital expertise is central to plans for online performance to equal, and eventually surpass, the store. Boffa has already supported operational and customer-facing upgrades, including new tills to improve speed of purchase and video content on product listing pages. King said Liberty is drawing on ideas from beyond luxury and fashion to strengthen its multichannel model. The appointment comes as Liberty expands its flagship fabrics department by 140%, increasing the space from 1,927 sq ft to 4,630 sq ft and offering more than 2,500 products.

IADS Notes: Liberty’s appointment of Jean-Dominique Boffa as digital director fits a wider NotionNews pattern in which heritage department stores are treating digital leadership, AI readiness, and omnichannel integration as central to reinvention. In April 2026, Galeries Lafayette’s work on generative AI showed how retailers are adapting search, product data, and discovery strategies for AI-mediated shopping journeys, while its use of advanced analytics the same month demonstrated the growing importance of data-led decision-making in department store operations. In December 2025, Galeries Lafayette’s investment strategy linked digital transformation with flagship renewal and experiential retail, a combination echoed by Liberty’s ambition to make online performance equal or surpass the store while expanding its fabrics department. Vogue Business’ August 2025 coverage of Liberty also positioned the retailer’s resilience around e-commerce growth, curation, heritage, and customer loyalty, making Boffa’s appointment a continuation of an existing transformation rather than a standalone digital hire.

Liberty appoints digital director to enhance online offering