Easton Sports Canada, which is responsible for sales of Easton products outside the USA, has promoted Scott Corbett and Luc Leboeuf to new positions to manage the Canadian and European markets for the company. Corbett becomes European hockey sales and brand manager, replacing in effect Leboeuf. The latter will occupy a new retail position, representing Easton products in Quebec. Both executives will continue to be based in Montreal.
Corbett served as Easton’s Canadian hockey sales manager for the past five years, and he is going to be replaced in this position by Jason Brown. Leboeuf, has been in the hockey business for 22 years, was lately Easton’s European sales manager.
Easton, which was acquired in early February by Riddell Bell Holdings for $385 million, has reported a 10 percent increase in net income to $25.4 million for its full year ended Nov. 30, 2005. The company’s operating income was up by 2 percent to $29.3 million. Revenues grew by 5 percent to $238.3 million while the gross margin dropped by 110 basis points to 37.3 percent.
Jim Easton, the founder of Easton, will be the chairman of a new company combining Easton with the Bell business, Easton Bell, with a minority share interest of about $25 million in the combined company. Distribution structures for the two companies should remain the same. The two will combine spending efforts for research and development, regional facilities as well as raw materials. Meanwhile, Easton continues to shift sourcing to Asia. Inventory purchased from the continent increased by 31 percent in its 2005 full year to about $107.2 million.
