Selfridges has announced that Andrew Keith is stepping down as chief executive after four years at the company.

The position will be taken over by André Maeder, who was appointed in May.

Maeder joins from German department store group KaDeWe, where he was appointed chief executive in 2014. Prior to this, he held a number of management positions at several well-known retailers, including Hugo Boss, Harrods and Karstadt.

Initially hired as managing director at Selfridges in 2020, Keith was promoted to chief executive last year.

WWD reported that the former chief executive is now leaving “‘to pursue new ventures.”

Keith added in a statement that it was “an honour to lead Selfridges over the past few years”. 

Selfridges Group chair and executive chair and chief executive of Central Group Tos Chirathivat praised Keith’s contribution to the success of the UK business.

The group chair particularly focused on the launch of the Selfridges Strategy under Keith’s leadership, which he said resulted in many customer innovations and enhancements, as well as thought-provoking campaigns.

“Keith has been an invaluable member of the Selfridges team, leading the business out of the Covid lockdowns and through its acquisition in 2022,” Chirathivat added.

Keith said that it was an “appropriate time” to leave the business and pursue new ventures.

"I am proud to be leaving Selfridges in such a strong position and to pass the baton to André to continue this journey with our reat team,” he said.  

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