CEO Talks: Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s Christophe Cuvillier Brings Global View to the Local Mall

PARIS — A retail apocalypse? Christophe Cuvillier is having none of it. That’s to be expected of the chief executive officer of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield — the commanding Frenchman behind last year’s transatlantic, mega mall merger, a $25 billion bet on the future of shopping centers. Sitting down with WWD at the real estate company’s headquarters in Paris’ tony 16th arrondissement, Cuvillier explained why he’s not predicting an apocalypse, outlining his vision of concentrating on choice locations and keeping them alive with new brands and a frequent renewal of tenants. His catchwords are destination retail, proximity and convenience. But he also delved into two other cornerstones of the group strategy: mixed-use sites and consumer data — collecting it globally, bringing scale to the local mall business. The executive hails from some of the most elite training grounds of the French corporate world: the business school Haute École de Commerce, beauty giant L’Oréal and an early techie hotspot, retailer Fnac. Over a decade at L’Oréal took Cuvillier to London, Milan and Sidney, where he gained experience in the high-end beauty business, representing luxury brands like Lancôme, Ralph Lauren and Armani. He rose up the ranks to become luxury division head of the activities in France, a

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