claro fair trade AG: CEO of claro fair trade AG stepping down

Initially in the position of Head of Marketing and Sales, and later as CEO, Beat Schumacher successfully established the company claro fair trade AG in the Swiss retail sector. Notwithstanding the pace of change on the high street, he built up an organisational structure which properly reflected market needs. As a successful corporate planner, and thanks to his outstanding talent for networking, Beat Schumacher also facilitated the merger with Caritas-Fairtrade, which built on the previous merger with teartrade.ch.

Despite the fact that the overall fair trade market has grown steadily in Switzerland in recent years, major distributors have been squeezing out the fair trade pioneers. The traditional small-scale producers in the south are having to compete with huge plantations controlled by globally-operating corporate groups. The many different fair trade labels are also making it difficult for consumers to tell whether goods are sourced from small-scale producers, and whether the entire output chain has involved fair production, consignment and distribution.

This is what Beat Schumacher has to say on the subject: «It is a tremendous challenge to provide people in the southern hemisphere with fair access to the markets of the north, and consequently to enable them to build a sustainable future. I am proud that together with the employees and the claro stores I have been able to maintain claro’s position in a tough competitive environment, and was able to strengthen this further by integrating two key players in the fair trade market. Because claro fair trade AG is in robust shape for the future, I have decided after seven intensive years to take up a new professional challenge and to focus more strongly on my personal situation and interests. In future I will continue to work within the field of sustainability. This means I will continue to follow and support the development of fair trade and of claro with great interest. »

Following the departure of Beat Schumacher, the Board of Directors will be appointing the long-standing Head of Finance and Services and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Marcel Etterlin, in his place. This will be an interim basis, until a new Chief Executive has been appointed. The process of recruiting a new CEO for claro fair trade AG will be launched in the next few days.

Andreas Sturm, Chairman of the Board of Directors, responded to the announcement of the resignation as follows: «Beat Schumacher successfully advanced the market for fair trade in Switzerland on a sustainable basis, and professionalised claro fair trade AG thoroughly and in far-reaching ways. Everyone at claro will greatly miss his humane nature and his exceptional determination to assume responsibility for a sustainable world. I thank Beat for the tremendous cooperation and for his contribution, and wish him all the best for his future. »

Media Contact:
claro fair trade AG Byfangstrasse 19 2552 Orpund Phone 32 356 07 00 Fax 032 356 07 01

Dr. Andreas Sturm Chairman of the Board of Directors sturm@phorbis.com

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