Havaianas has made several changes to the executive suite at its European hub in Madrid, according to Modaes. The Alpargatas-owned brand has promoted Vanessa Sosa, a 12-year brand veteran formerly with Tommy Hilfiger, from head of Spain to sales director for Europe, the Middle East and India. To succeed Sosa in Spain, Havaianas has appointed Olenka Ibarretxe, who has been with the Iberian operation since 2016 and was formerly with Puma, Skechers and Camper.
There is also a new sales director for Spain, Carlos Orive García, who, until 2021, was brand and sales director for Comercial Udra, distributor for Grupo San José.
The new head of digital business for Europe, the Middle East and India is Jorge Cano, who joined the brand in 2020 and has held e-commerce positions at Dufry, Uno de 50, Minsait and Kiwoko.
Early this year, moreover, Havaianas appointed Merrel Williams to head up its “Beyond to the Core” division, which covers all shoes except flip-flops. Modaes observes that this was the first C-level position to be located outside the brand’s home country of Brazil.
For the third quarter, Havaianas enjoyed a 5 percent sales rise in Europe while suffering a 41 percent drop in the U.S. It is projecting a 31 percent sales increase in Spain for the full-year 2022.
