Former Signet CEO lands at boutique retailer

New York--Mike Barnes, the former CEO of Signet Jewelers Ltd., has been named as chairman, president and CEO of Dallas-based specialty retail chain Francesca’s, effective immediately.

He succeeds Neill Davis, who resigned as president, CEO and a director.

Barnes resigned from Signet in October, citing his personal desire to find a job closer to his home and family in Dallas, and was replaced by longtime Signet executive Mark Light.

In his more than three years with the company, Barnes oversaw a number of new initiatives, including the purchase of a diamond polishing facility in Gaborone, Botswana.

Even bigger, Barnes led Signet’s $1.46 billion acquisition of Zale Corp. to transform the company into the largest specialty jeweler in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada with more than 3,500 retail outlets and ownership of mall mainstays including Zales, Piercing Pagoda and Kay Jewelers.  

He also spent more than 25 years serving in senior roles at Fossil Group, ending his employment with the company in the position of president, COO and a director from 2007 to 2010.

Independently-owned Francesca’s offers a mix of apparel, jewelry, accessories and gifts. The company currently operates 538 boutiques in 47 states and Washington, D.C.

New director named for Inhorgenta Munich
Stefanie Mändlein has been appointed as exhibition director for the Inhorgenta Munich trade show, effective Jan. 1.

Mändlein succeeds Renate Wittgenstein, who has been a product manager for the show’s parent company, Messe München, for three years and will remain involved with Inhorgenta Munich as an external adviser.

Mändlein has been at Messe München since 2007. Her most recent position was sales director, inter alia, for Inhorgenta Munich, giving her a familiarity with the jewelry and watch industry as well as many contacts, the company said.

She also has held a positon as head of sales at an international distributing agency.

Inhorgenta Munich, which has more than 1,200 exhibitors, announced earlier this year that it was further modernizing and updating its show with the addition of a number of smartwatch manufacturer and brand exhibitors for the January 2015 show.