Australia’s 2XU (‘Two Times You’), a leading international operator across the performance sports and compression apparel categories, has appointed Scott Taylor as its first ever President for the company’s operation in the United States.
Taylor joins 2XU following the company receiving an investment from private equity firm L Capital Asia at the end of 2013.The L Capital Asia 2 fund is backed by luxury goods conglomerate LVMH.
According to a release from 2XU, bringing over two decades of unparalleled experience in the US sporting goods industry, Taylor is the ideal candidate to spearhead 2XU’s aggressive plans for growth in the coming years.
“From a US perspective, we aspire to accelerate the profitable growth of the business and brand to the extent that US annual revenue breaks through US$50 million by 2017 en route to US$400 million in the longer term,” said 2XU Chief Executive Officer Kevin Roberts.
“In order to achieve our global growth aspirations, it’s imperative that we develop high quality teams in all key markets, and we are delighted to welcome Scott to lead our team in the US. Scott possesses strong leadership capabilities, a deep knowledge of athletic retailers and consumers in the US market and valuable experience in driving breakout growth at Nike and Under Armour over the last 23 years.”
After 15 years at Nike, eight years at Under Armour and living in eight states across the US, Scott Taylor has a strong understanding of the geographies, channels, customers and consumers in the US sporting goods industry.
At Nike, he progressed through various sales roles, rising to National Apparel Sales Manager (Sporting Goods and Urban), and ultimately to the position of General Merchandise Manager for key accounts in the sporting goods and mall channels in the US.
In eight years at Under Armour, Taylor’s roles included Director of Key Accounts, Director of Apparel Merchandising and Director of Global Brand Marketing for various categories – a tenure arming him with an intimate understanding of what it takes to achieve growth in the US.
“I’m excited to be joining 2XU,” said Taylor. “The potential of this brand is immense, and its early stronghold on core sports impressive. I look forward to extending the 2XU brand ethos of ‘Human Performance Multiplied’, to more consumers, markets and athlete communities in the United States than ever before. I believe 2XU is truly the next great global performance brand.”
Taylor’s appointment commenced at 2XU’s Spring Summer 2015 Global Sales Conference in Carlsbad, California, last week, where 120 of the brand’s representatives gathered from over 50 countries across the globe.
A former college athlete, Taylor, his wife Rachel and their son Logan will relocate from Baltimore, Maryland, to 2XU USA’s home base in Carlsbad.
2XU is a world leading sports apparel brand, which aims to set the benchmark in high performance compression. Designed and tested in consultation with industry experts, all 2XU garments employ ‘intelligent physiological design, cutting edge performance fabrics and construction.’
The premium Australian brand is now stocked in multiple countries around the world. 2XU is worn by professional athletes the world over including the majority of players in the NFL and NBA, as well as by over 40 collegiate athletic teams.
In recent years, 2XU has built significant momentum with a number of step changes for the business.
In March 2012, 2XU confirmed the acquisition of its US based distributor, Sports Multiplied LLC – following a successful six year relationship with the west-coast based company. Twelve months later, in March 2013, the company announced the appointment of Kevin Roberts as Chief Executive Officer.
2XU has an international array of sponsorship deals with athletes, organisations and teams. Most recently, in the summer of 2013, 2XU was appointed Official Compression Partner of the Ironman Foundation Newton Running Ambassador Triathlon Team.
