Amer Sports, whose brands include Mavic, Salomon and Suunto, has appointed Andy Towne President of Apparel and member of Amer Sports’ Executive Board, starting on 11 October 2010.
Amer Sports’ stock exchange release on the appointment notes that this latest move is in line with the group’s new strategic priorities – where it is targeting faster growth in soft goods and focusing on consumer-centric product creation.
Jean-Marc Pambet, currently President of Apparel and Footwear, will continue as President of Footwear as well as President of Salomon. The appointment of Towne for the Apparel leadership position will allow Amer Sports to accelerate its growth plans in apparel, whilst the dedication of Mr Pambet to Footwear will allow increased focus and faster expansion of the group’s footwear business.
Previously 44 year old Andy Towne had been working as the CEO at outdoor clothing specialist Musto. Prior to that he has served at Reebok International as Vice President, Marketing and Product Europe and at Helly Hansen as Vice President, Global Marketing and Product. Towne holds a MA degree from the University of Cambridge.
In September 2010, Amer Sports announced new strategic priorities. The strategy defines internal financial as well as synergy and scale targets for each unit in the group portfolio. The strategy emphasizes ‘faster growth in apparel and footwear, excellence in consumer-centric product creation and brand marketing, and strengthening commercial fundamentals through sales and channel management. Operational excellence continues to be a key cornerstone.’
Amer Sports is pursuing faster growth in soft goods by moving to category-based development across brands to build scale in soft goods R&D, product line management, sourcing and manufacturing.
