Zbyněk Kician steps down as Notino CEO as Czech e-shop tops CZK 40 billion in turnover for the first time

Czech online beauty and health giant Notino has topped CZK 40 billion in turnover for the first time in its history — EUR 1.76 billion (CZK 42.6 billion) in its latest financial year. The company is also changing leadership: CEO Zbyněk Kician, who held the position for nearly six years, is stepping down, with three new co-CEOs taking over in his place.

The past year was a period of major internal transformation for Notino, during which the company cut around three hundred of its two thousand employees. The reason was cumbersome management processes and slow decision-making. "We're cleaning up things we never had time to get to," Kician told CzechCrunch in an interview last summer.

The reforms also affected the pace of growth: turnover rose by 11.5% over the year, noticeably slower than in previous periods. Notino's biggest market remains Poland (over 15% of turnover), followed by Czechia (12%), Italy and Romania. The end of 2025 was particularly tough for the company — the Black Friday and Christmas sales period brought growth of just a few percent. In the first months of 2026, however, growth accelerated to 27%.

"The transformation wasn't easy and it affected our growth rate in the short term," says Jakub Šedý, one of Notino's three new directors. According to him, the company maintained a solid financial position, allowing it to keep investing in development. "In the first months of 2026 it became clear that the changes were the right call. Today we have a more efficient organization that will serve as a solid foundation for further growth," he adds.

Kician himself will no longer be directly involved in the company's operational management. He joined Notino in 2015, first as CFO and later as commercial director, and took over as head of the whole company in October 2019, succeeding founder and owner Michal Zámec (who announced last year that he would focus on development and rental housing). Kician now plans to work on a broader range of projects around Notino, seeking investment and M&A opportunities. The group has historically been diversified: it held a stake in logistics company Zásilkovna, invested in HR startup Talentpilot, and recently sold its adult online store Flagranti to competitor Růžový slon.

Instead of a single CEO, the company will now be led by three people at once: Notino stresses this isn't an experiment with outside managers — all three have long served in the company's top management and know the business inside out. Lukáš Havlásek is responsible for brand, digital channels, customer experience and technology — it was under his leadership that the mobile app was developed, which today accounts for 40% of the company's turnover. Bartosz Klisz heads the commercial division, digital advertising, the network of physical stores and the Notino Partner salon network, and is developing partnerships with the world's biggest beauty brands.