Alain Caparros, CEO of C&A Europe, is leaving the fashion retailer after two years at the helm. Health reasons have forced the 62-year old’s departure.

“Unfortunately, due to my heart attack last year, I no longer feel able to fill my position with the necessary dedication,” Caparros said in a statement released Wednesday in Zug, Switzerland by C&A AG. He will now focus on his recovery.

Edward Brenninkmeijer, part of the family which owns the company, will take over from Caparros. The executive has been CEO of the C&A business in Brazil, Mexico and China since 2014, and now will also assume responsibility for the European division.

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Caparros became chief executive officer of C&A in August 2017. At the time, the company was struggling with declining sales, and he rolled out a strategy of introducing low-cost own brands to face bargain retailers such as Primark.

He also brought well-known brands such as Mustang jeans to the shelves of the retail chain and introduced homeware brand Butlers and fancy dress supplier Deiters to attract new customers. “He steered C&A in the right direction,” said Martijn Brenninkmeijer, the head of the family-owned retail empire.

Caparros became known in Germany a few years ago, when acting as CEO of Rewe almost stopped the proposed takeover of supermarket chain Kaiser's Tengelmann by rival Edeka. In the end, Edeka was forced to hand over 60 Kaiser's Tengelmann branches in Berlin to Rewe, to complete the acquisition.