The appointment, which surprised some observers, is related to the plan outlined a few days by the newly minted president and chief executive of Amer Sports, Heikki Takala, to grow sales of softgoods from 55 percent to two-thirds of the revenues of its Salomon division.
It may be recalled that, when the late Robert Louis-Dreyfus announced Adidas’ takeover of Salomon and TaylorMade, he justified the high price being paid with the fact that annual sales of clothing under these two brands could grow beyond €1 billion a year.
Amer Sports has now announced the appointment of Andy Towne as president of the group’s apparel business and as a member of Amer Sports’ executive board, starting on Oct.11. He will have no fixed location and will be responsible for apparel throughout the group. Besides the brands Salomon, Arc’teryx and Bonfire, he will also steer the possible development of golf, tennis and team sports clothing under the Wilson brand.
Jean-Marc Pambet, the Salomon executive who held the position of president of the apparel and footwear division, will continue as president of footwear as well as president of Salomon, based in Annecy. Amer expects that Towne’s will help the group accelerate its growth plans in apparel, while Pambet’s focus on footwear is seen boosting the expansion of this already strong business.
Towne, 44, was previously chief executive of Musto, the British brand of sailing and horse-riding apparel, but he left the post in the middle of 2009. Prior to that he served at Reebok International as vice president of marketing and product development for Europe and at Helly Hansen as vice president of global marketing and product.
In September, Amer announced plans to boost growth in apparel and footwear, reach excellence in the creation of consumer centered products and brand marketing, as well as strengthening its commercial activity. The program also set internal financial, synergy and scale targets for each unit in the group.
