Rachid Mohamed Rachid: How a former Egyptian minister is shaping global luxury fashion

The fashion world is illustrious, not only on the catwalks and backstage during fashion weeks. The biographies of the industry's CEOs can be equally dazzling, such as that of Valentino's chairman, Rachid Mohamed Rachid.

From engineering student to minister of trade

Rachid was born in 1955 in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. The son of a merchant family, he felt his calling as a businessman early on. However, at his father's request, he first studied mechanical engineering in his hometown.

“It was no fun being an engineer,” Rachid said in an interview with Enigma Magazine. His father, a successful shipping entrepreneur, advised him that as an engineer he would be better able to analyse investments and understand production. “Now I think he was right.”

After his studies, Rachid felt a strong desire to create things: products, brands, value. Since the beginning of his career, it has not been about moving numbers around, Rachid said in an interview published on the video platform YouTube last year. “It was about creating something that didn't exist before.”

Before entering the food industry in 1978, Rachid gained work experience as an engineer at a Danish refrigerator manufacturer. Back in Alexandria, he joined the family business dealing in frozen products. Rachid still fondly recalls building his first factories, from the buildings and machinery to the moment the first products rolled off the production line.

This set a long and varied career in motion. Rachid founded a joint venture with the consumer goods giant Unilever. From 2000, Rachid was responsible for the business of an entire region as president for North Africa, the Middle East and Turkey. This management position took the man, who had previously been his own boss in the family business, to the British group's London headquarters. Unexpectedly, he did not stay there for long.

Four years later, Rachid was appointed minister for foreign trade and industry of Egypt under President Hosni Mubarak. His appointment as a man from the private sector was unusual, and he still credits himself with the liberalisation of the Egyptian economy.

Reinvention in the fashion world

His term in office ended with the Egyptian revolution in 2011. Rachid fled the country with his family and settled in Qatar. The Egyptian public prosecutor's office froze his and other ministers' assets, brought charges of corruption and issued a prison sentence, which was dropped years later according to media reports.

Despite the turbulent times that his move into politics brought towards the end, he looks back with pride on the reforms and free trade agreements he initiated as minister of trade. Rachid advises young people to embrace opportunities for career changes. “When there is an element of change, you take everything from your previous experience and add something new. This can lead to a unique combination of things.”

Rachid himself managed to reinvent himself again, and a short time later his name appeared in the fashion industry spotlight. As CEO of the investment fund Mayhoola, in which members of the Qatari royal family are also said to have invested, he took over the Italian fashion house Valentino in 2012. This was followed by the acquisitions of the menswear label Pal Zileri, the Turkish luxury department store chain Beymen and the fashion house Balmain, for which Rachid also serves as chairman.

Fascination with luxury

After temporarily losing access to his previous assets, Rachid had to start all over again. Following his years in politics, he consciously decided to make his comeback, this time in the highly competitive and international world of luxury goods.

“It was a very rational decision. I come from the consumer goods sector and had a large network, including contacts in the Italian luxury goods industry,” Rachid said in an interview with Enigma. As minister of trade, he had previously become acquainted with the appeal of the creative industry and the appetite for luxury goods of the then-emerging Chinese middle class.

Rachid explains his fascination with the luxury goods industry by the global appeal of the brands. In contrast to the consumer goods sector, where products were adapted to local tastes, the products of luxury brands do not differ worldwide. “Luxury had the power to speak a global language, and I found that very attractive. I knew that this would be very important in the future.”

A stage for creatives

Rachid's bet on the power of luxury seems to have paid off. The turnover of the fashion house Valentino has more than quadrupled to over 1.3 billion euros since its acquisition from financial investor Permira. Balmain's revenues have tripled to around 300 million euros since the takeover, according to a report by the trade magazine Women’s Wear Daily.

Despite his business success, the businessman from the needs-oriented consumer goods world openly admits in interviews that he lacks a flair for the creative and emotional side of fashion, leaving it to the dedicated teams.

He often cites the rejuvenation of the Valentino brand, which he drove forward with a focus on accessories, as an example. When the creative team showed him the photoshoot of the studded high heels with the tattooed men's hands, he had great doubts. Ultimately, however, he relied on the team's intuition, and it became one of the most successful advertising campaigns.

It is about creating the best environment for creatives, is how Rachid describes his role in the fashion houses, which focuses on the business side. “My job is to provide the vision and direction, select the right people for a task, motivate them and ensure that they live up to their responsibilities,” he said in the interview with Enigma.

Luxury slowdown

However, the recent slowdown in the luxury industry does not seem to be sparing houses like Valentino either. Sales and earnings have been falling since 2023. The fashion house reacted under the direction of chairman Rachid by reshuffling top positions. Last year, Alessandro Michele replaced Pierpaolo Piccioli as creative director after 25 years, and Riccardo Bellini replaced long-standing CEO Jacopo Venturini in August.

A similar shift is also now underway at Balmain, where yesterday, November 5, it was revealed that long-time creative director Olivier Rousteing was stepping down. In his parting words, Rousteing thanked Rachid and CEO Matteo Sgarbossa for their trust in him over his 14 years at the French luxury house.

Rachid has recently distanced himself from his former plans to build his own luxury conglomerate. The French luxury group Kering acquired a 30 percent stake in Valentino two years ago, with an option to buy further shares. The transaction valued the fashion house, once bought for 700 million US dollars, at six billion US dollars.

In return, Mayhoola is considering building up a minority stake in Kering in the medium term and positioning itself as an investor. However, it no longer has plans to build its own luxury group, Rachid said in an interview with the industry magazine Miss Tweed two years ago.

Alsara and Bidayat

Rachid is also active in the European fashion arena through his self-founded funds. With his Swiss-based fund Alsara Investment Group, he acquired the Italian outerwear brand Khrisjoy and the eyewear label Akoni.

With the investment fund Bidayat, he invests in and promotes the creative industry in the Middle East and North Africa. Investments include the jewellery label Azza Fahmy and the accessory label Okhtein, both of which combine modern design with elements of ancient Egyptian culture.

The well-connected businessman remains deeply connected to his homeland; he often speaks of Alexandria as the most beautiful city in the world. With his investments in brands from the Middle East and North Africa, he hopes to help them internationalise with his resources.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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