Jean-Baptiste Dacquin is a graduate of EM Normandie. After a long career in textiles, he has just been appointed HR Director of the Printemps group. He looks back on his journey and reveals his advice for all those who want to join this temple of fashion and luxury.
Jean-Baptiste Dacquin: from EM Normandie to the world of human resources
Why did you join a business school?
After my general baccalaureate, I decided to join an HEC prep school. I turned to business schools because I knew I wanted to work in the private sector but without a particular vocation. A business school allowed me to keep as many doors open as possible.
Can you summarize your journey for us? What is the common thread?
After a VIE at Leroy Merlin, I worked in consulting, first in HR at Michael Page then in management and organization within the KPMG Consulting firm and I specialized in commerce and distribution.
This stint in consulting opened the doors to Kiabi for me. I had the chance to evolve there for 12 years, alternating between HR positions and operational functions in France and internationally while taking on more responsibilities each time. This allowed me to be contacted in 2012 to join the SMCP Group (Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot and Fursac) to set up the Group HR department. It has been an extraordinary adventure because the group has experienced incredible growth, going from 400 to 1,800 points of sale in seven years, from 9 to 44 countries, from 900 to nearly 8,000 employees worldwide. After 7 years as head of Group HR, I returned to operations by taking over as General Manager of the Claudie Pierlot brand for the last three years.
In fact, the common thread of my career is the passion for omnichannel retail, fashion, management and an alternation of HR roles and operational functions. It allows me to have a very global vision of how the company operates and to be a very business-oriented HR manager.
Kiabi, SMCP, Le Printemps… What do you like in the world of fashion?
The world of fashion is truly a personal affinity. I wanted to work in this sector long before joining business school. The product speaks to me. I like it. I wouldn’t be able to explain where this passion comes from. What we see less when we are outside is that it is an extremely complex industry. It’s one of the only industries where everyone reinvents their entire offering every season. It’s a hyper-competitive and very hectic sector but it’s fascinating and you never get bored.
Recruitment: how to join the Le Printemps group?
You have just arrived within the Le Printemps group. What made you want to join him?
Department stores are experiencing the commerce revolution and must reinvent themselves. Spring is a superb house created in 1865, with an incredible historical heritage, a magnificent portfolio of brands, and a presence in the main French cities. The Group is in the midst of a transformation. He launched Citadium which is growing very strongly and in recent years acquired placedestendances.com and madeindesign.com to increase its digital presence.
Le Printemps also offers new ways of purchasing such as the personal shopper which is a service offered and which allows the customer to be accompanied and advised personally and over time to build their wardrobe, their decor, etc. Le Printemps has a modern vision of what the commerce of tomorrow will be, with an offer that combines physical and digital. On a human level, there are just over 3,000 employees with an incredible diversity of profiles.
What is your advice for those who want to join Le Printemps?
The first piece of advice is to love business. Even if you have to join an IT team or the management control department, you must always understand how the company creates value. We don’t do IT in a box retailas in an accounting firm. You have to come to Spring when you have a taste for commerce and beautiful things. You have to love this universe.
You also need to be customer oriented. When we do not serve the end customer, we serve an internal customer who serves the end customer. Part of my job is to ensure that the teams in the field have the best support from headquarters: good stock, good information, good tools and to help ensure that the teams work efficiently and with pleasure.
The HR profession seen by Jean-Baptiste Dacquin
You have worked with large luxury groups and consumer brands. Is there a difference in the practice of HRD depending on the type of company?
Each company has its culture and I am convinced that HR resources are not necessarily linked to the level of range of a company. Kiabi has, for example, an HR culture that many luxury groups could envy: a real culture of training, internal promotion, internal communication, shared vision, responsibility, etc.
I imported part of this culture to SMCP while of course adapting it to a very different context: company under private equity then listed on the Paris stock exchange.
Of course, it is important to adapt your HR policy to each business model, but we do it with the same seriousness. At Kiabi, we have a volume approach, so you have to be very well organized, each cost is important. At SMCP, we will have a premium customer logic, so we will pay attention to each customer.
What are the qualities of a good HR director?
In my opinion, it is important to know the business model of the company in which you work to understand where value is created, but also the changes in the market in which you operate, whether on the customer side (digital, cross-channel, rise of second hand, eco-responsible sensitivity, etc.) or on the recruitment side. COVID has also changed the requirements of candidates. Our professions must adapt.
I also think that my experience has given me an economic culture, which, as HR director, gives me credibility when I address teams. And if I had one piece of advice to give to young graduates, it would be to try to build a path where you move from one department to another, to explore the company. This is what gives credibility and an overview of an organization.
