The founder of an iconic luxury fashion retailer has stepped down as its chief executive.
Oscar Pinto-Hervia has left his role at Hervia to “pursue new opportunities”.
The company was the first to stock debut collections from the late Alexander McQueen and was acquired by investor Rami Cassis’ Parabellum Investments in May 2022.
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Mr Pinto-Hervia arrived from Chile as a refugee in 1978.. He opened his first store in 1993 while the company relaunched its flagship site in Manchester last year.
It stocks the likes of Rick Owens, Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons, Y-3, Maison Margiela, DSM, and Charles Jeffrey Loverboy.
When the business was acquired, Mr Pinto-Hervia retained a stake and remained as chief executive.
A successor to Mr Pinto-Hervia as chief executive has not been named.
A spokesperson for Hervia said: “Oscar has played an important role in the business over the last 30 years.
“As the business goes into its next stage, Oscar has decided to step down from the business to pursue new opportunities.
“Hervia would like to wish him all the best for his future endeavours.”
In the 1990s, Hervia made its name because of its popularity among The Haçienda nightclub-goers as well as being frequented by the likes of boyband Take That.
When it was bought last year, Mr Cassis said he intended for Hervia to become the basis for further acquisitions in the fashion and retail space, with a view to becoming a new independent Manchester-based ‘supergroup’.
The ‘supergroup’ is expected to be a platform for emerging and early-career British, French, and other international designers.
Mr Cassis started out in management, engineering, and consulting and established his family office in 2012.
His other recent investments include tech and fintech firms including Parseq, Advanco, and ieDigital.