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Working in retail is becoming increasingly complex as AI reshapes the industry, Douglas chief executive Sander van der Laan told delegates at the World Retail Congress in Berlin on Tuesday.

“These days the job of retail, not only of the CEO but the art and science, has got a lot more complex,” said van der Laan, who has led the luxury beauty retailer since 2022.

“25 years ago we had the first shock when e-commerce came up - that was an adaptation process for many retailers. Now we have this new wave of AI.”

Van der Laan, who’s from the Netherlands, admitted he finds AI “a bit scary”.

“I really have to make an effort to catch up on this,” he said. “For us - the leaders of these legacy companies - it’s hard work to catch up. It’s not a topic we are naturally able to talk about. We like to talk about products, supply chains.”

Speaking on stage with Claus Fischer, consultant at Spencer Stuart’s Global Consumer Practice, van der Laan reflected on lessons from a career that has included high profile roles at several major retailers.

Before joining Douglas, he spent more than six years as chief executive of Dutch retailer Action and held a number of senior roles at Ahold Delhaize. He also previously worked as general manager at Gall & Gall and in marketing and sales at Unilever.

Van der Laan said his leadership style is focused on helping teams move in the right direction.

“I aim to explain, inform, motivate, inspire to get people into the right direction,” he said, while adding that he remains direct with staff.

“I can be really sharp and direct and I generally try to make the company and the people better,” he said, as he added that the job “doesn’t stop at 5 o’clock in the afternoon”.

At Douglas, van der Laan said he is working to create a more cohesive brand while preserving local entrepreneurship. Following a post-pandemic boom in beauty sales, he said the sector - like many other retailers - has begun to slow over the past two years.

“Everybody has to adapt to this new normality,” he said. “That means we have to make sure we keep our strategy in place.”