Jean-Paul Giraud, executive chairman of Groupe Go Sport, and Jean-Louis Raynard, the more recently appointed general manager of the French sporting goods retailing group, were led to give up their functions at a board meeting last week. The controlling shareholder, Rallye, has appointed a new general manager, François Neukirch, to lead “a new phase” in the recovery of the group.
Neukirch, 47, spent 15 years with Décathlon, notably running its purchasing and marketing operations. Before high-level assignments at Séphora, he also spent two years at the head of Halle aux Chaussures, a discount-oriented shoe retail chain owned by Vivarte, a French retail group that is said to have expressed a certain interest in the acquisition of Groupe Go Sport. Rallye previously sold The Athlete’s Foot.
Neukirch will have wider responsibilities than Raynard. A statement from Rallye indicates that Giraud will be replaced by a non-executive chairman. A deputy general manager of Rallye, Catherine Soubie, is taking over his place on an interim basis.
Giraud, who is now 61 years old, took over the reins of Groupe Go Sport in May 2004. The change of management is evidently related to its persistently negative results, in spite of a spectacular turnaround in the past couple of years for its chain of athletic footwear stores, Courir. Groupe Go Sport reported continued to lose money in the 1st half of 2007 on 2.3 percent higher revenues of €366 million.
The change of management also comes after a French court issued a temporary injunction against Go Sport and one of its suppliers, Trading Innovations, banning them from importing and selling a self-electing tent. According to sport-guide.com, Décathlon claimed that the tent was violating a French patent issued to one of its subsidiaries, Promiles, last Jan. 12.
