Of Galician origin and Barcelona heart, José Gómez is a cosmopolitan to which life has taken him around the world. Born in Uruguay, he began his career at Bosser Fabrics, lived in Asia for a while, led the Santander textile subsidiary and developed the international mango business. His last destination has been Paris, the city in which, for a decade, he is responsible for the international business of French Etam.
Modaes Magazine Number 54
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Near the bustle of the Elysees fields, José Gómez chooses the coffee from a luxurious hotel overlooking a bright landscaped patio. The weather accompanies one of the first days of spring sun. Despite the almost 1,000 kilometers that separate him from his family life in Barcelona, where he returns every weekend, Gomez lives it peacefully. “We are only one hour from plane,” he smiles, after the first sip of his Crème coffee.
“I have always lived outside, I am a very rare Spaniard,” he jokes about his atypical and traveled profile, defending that he is “very proud of Spain and Barcelona.” Gomez acknowledges that he has never cost him to integrate into any culture, although the United States, where he often travels to see his family in Ohio, is one of the places where he feels most comfortable. “Even if they are subjective, the values are universal,” he says.
From its long experience, pandemic underlines as “one of the most complicated, personally and professional moments”, remembering the daily meetings of six in the afternoon in the war room of ETAM to monitor the situation of the 1,500 stores. “We have forgotten very fast from pandemic, but it was very enriching, you have to learn from all experiences.”admits, explaining that the company was airy in a context where “the law of the strongest was imposed” thanks to “its great reaction capacity.”
“There is no day that is not fun for retail”
In general, the retail is demanding and requires “a Constant flow of products and services in store, so the system has to be perfectly greased, ”says Gomez, citing other challenges such as war in Ukraine, inflation, the Suez channel or Trump’s tariffs. “There is no day that is not fun for retail,” he laughs.
“Working in senior management positions consists of managing crisis,” he smiles, “but today they are chained much more frequently than in the 80s,” says Gomez, concluding with a stoic “Life Happenspens.” For the manager, “it is important to make self -criticism, but it is always easy to be a captain after the war.” Its biggest advice is not to “petrified in the face of instability and take the temperature daily to be able to make the best decisions.”
Gómez also defends that virtue is in the middle ground and does not believe in the cancellation culture. “We have returned to a society in which or you are my friend or you are my enemy, I believe in the midpoint,” he says. In ETAM, it has opted for difficult decisions such as remaining in the Russian market, “not for sales, but for support to our 350 collaborators” and work with a vision of Long term led by a president he admires, Laurent Milchior.
Day by day
José Gómez’s days are always different for their constant trips. The manager is a regular of the plane, often flying to the United States, the Middle East or Barcelona, and the jet lay He has become a battles partner to take advantage. “I like to take advantage of the hourly difference between Paris and other cities to advance work and then take advantage of all day ahead”he explains, recognizing that sleep hours are not his fort and that he likes to reserve time for great sporting events, especially basketball.
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