MONTREAL, Dec. 19, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Birks Group
Inc. (the "Company" or "Birks Group") (NYSE: BGI) announces that
Pasquale (Pat) Di Lillo, Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer, has decided to leave the
Company on January 17, 2020 to pursue
personal interests. Pat has been an integral part of Birks Group's
senior management team for the past five years and has led the
finance function and many successful initiatives that have
contributed to the Company's development.
Birks Group is also pleased to announce that Ms. Katia Fontana will be joining the Company as
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, on January 13, 2020. Mr. Di Lillo will remain with the Company until
January 17, 2020 to ensure a proper
transition.
Ms. Fontana is a Chartered Professional Accountant, CA and has
over 25 years of experience in finance and accounting, 14 years of
which were spent in the retail industry. She was recently
Chief Financial Officer at Avenir Global, a holding company for
communications and public relations firms. Prior thereto, she was
with Groupe Dynamite Inc., an apparel retailer, from 2004 to 2018
in various positions, including Chief Financial Officer, Vice
President, Finance and Administration and Director, Finance and
prior thereto she was at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, one of the Big 4
public accounting firms, from 1993 to 2004. She holds a Bachelor of
Business Administration from University of Québec at Montreal and a Chartered Professional
Accountant Designation from l'Ordre des comptables
professionnels agréés du Québec.
Niccolò Rossi di Montelera, Executive Chairman of the Board,
commented: "Pat has been our CFO since 2015. He has been a valued
member of our senior management team and has made significant
contributions to the business. On behalf of the Board, I would like
to thank him for his hard work and dedication and wish him every
success in the future." Mr. Rossi di Montelera continued: "We are
very pleased to welcome Katia
Fontana to the Company as our new CFO and wish her success
in her new role."
In making the announcement, Jean-Christophe Bédos, President and
Chief Executive Officer, commented: "For the past five years, Pat
has been an important member of our senior management team. We are
grateful for his guidance and leadership during the implementation
of the Company's transformational strategy." Mr. Bédos
continued: "I am very pleased to welcome Katia Fontana to Birks Group. Her
experience and knowledge in finance and accounting and her retail
experience will be valuable assets for Birks Group as we continue
the development of the Birks product brand and the transformation
of our stores network in Canada."
Pat Di Lillo, Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer, said: "I have been with Birks Group for
five years and have immensely enjoyed my time with the Company.
However, it is now time to take care of some personal matters and
move onto the next stage of my life. I leave the Company at an
extremely exciting time in its development. The opportunities that
lie ahead for the Company are great as we look to the further
development of the Birks brand into an international brand."
About Birks Group Inc.
Birks Group is a leading designer of fine jewelry, timepieces
and gifts and operator of luxury jewelry stores in Canada. The Company operates 27 stores under
the Birks brand in most major metropolitan markets in Canada, one retail location in Calgary under the Brinkhaus brand and two
retail locations in Vancouver
under the Graff and Patek Philippe brands. Birks Collections are
available at Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths in the United Kingdom in addition to several jewelry
retailers across North America.
Birks was founded in 1879 and has become Canada's premier retailer and designer of fine
jewelry, timepieces and gifts. Additional information can be found
on the Company's web site, www.birks.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain "forward-looking"
statements concerning the Company's performance and
strategies, including that the opportunities that lie ahead
for the Company are great as we look to the further development of
the Birks brand into an international brand. Given such statements
include various risks and uncertainties, actual results might
differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking
statements and no assurance can be given that we will meet the
results projected in the forward looking statements. These risks
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the following:
(i) economic, political and market conditions, including the
economies of Canada and the U.S.,
which could adversely affect the Company's business, operating
results or financial condition, including its revenue and
profitability, through the impact of changes in the real estate
markets, changes in the equity markets and decreases in consumer
confidence and the related changes in consumer spending patterns,
the impact on store traffic, tourism and sales; (ii) the
impact of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, increases in
commodity prices and borrowing costs and their related impact on
the Company's costs and expenses; (iii) the Company's ability
to maintain and obtain sufficient sources of liquidity to fund its
operations, to achieve planned sales, gross margin and net income,
to keep costs low, to implement its business strategy, maintain
relationships with its primary vendors, to mitigate fluctuations in
the availability and prices of the Company's merchandise, to
compete with other jewelers, to succeed in its marketing
initiatives, and to have a successful customer service program and
(iv) the Company's ability to execute its strategic vision.
Information concerning factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially are set forth under the captions "Risk Factors"
and "Operating and Financial Review and Prospects" and elsewhere in
the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on June 24, 2019 and
subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The
Company undertakes no obligation to update or release any revisions
to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of this statement or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by
law.
SOURCE Birks Group Inc.