Pure Beauty

Rituals UK Managing Director exits after nine years

By Alessandro Carrara | Published: 31-Oct-2023

Annemarie Forsyth, the UK and Ireland Managing Director for Victoria’s Secret, will take over from Penny Grivea as Managing Director in November

Rituals UK Managing Director Penny Grivea will step down after nine years with the Dutch beauty brand.

Grivea, who has been the driving force behind Rituals’ recent store portfolio expansion plans, will leave the business at the end of November.

Annemarie Forsyth, the UK and Ireland Managing Director for Victoria’s Secret, will take over Grivea’s role on 6 November. 

“I have been working with this fabulous brand for nine years now and the time has come for me to hand over to a new leader,” Grivea said in an email sent to staff and seen by Retail Week.

Grivea’s departure comes after Rituals opened its new flagship store on Oxford Street, London, in September.

The brand said the corner unit was designed with interactivity and playfulness in mind.

This includes a dedicated area to try products, an open top miniature truck lined with skin care and fragrances and the brand’s signature faux white cherry blossom tree.

The new store forms part of Rituals’ plans to open 25 stores in 2024, and ten new stores before the end of 2023 in the UK and Ireland.

“I started with nine stores and a very challenging business,” added Grivea.

“We will have 80 by the end of the year and a portfolio of great partners that have helped us widen our distribution and increase our brand awareness.”

The Rituals brand was founded by Raymond Cloosterman in 2000, and launched its first UK store four years later.

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