Helly Hansen is rebuilding its organization in Europe after several departures and the end of its distribution and licensing agreement with the Unlimited Sports Group (USG) for Germany, Austria and the Benelux countries.
Harry Schedlbauer, formerly at USG, was appointed late last year as sales manager for Germany and Austria, while Patrick van Heijden started earlier this year as sales manager for the Benelux countries, coming from the bicycle industry.
Helly Hansen has also hired several new sales representatives for its German operation, based in Munich. Showrooms have been opened in Munich as well as Hamburg and Leusden, in the Netherlands. Helly Hansen said it had the leeway to invest in the German-speaking countries for the longer term, aiming for strategic partnerships to deliver sustainable growth.
The changes in these markets are accompanied by a new European management structure, after the departure of two managers, Espen Krogstad and Sébastien Choquette. Krogstad, who was previously executive vice-president of Helly Hansen in charge of European sales, took the place of Simon Mørdre last November as chief executive of Active Brands, the Norwegian company that owns several brands such as Kari Traa and Bjørn Dæhlie.
Choquette, former sales director for continental Europe, left Helly Hansen at the end of last year and is taking several months off to work as a volunteer in India. His Munich-based assignment to supervise sales in Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland and several Eastern European countries has been split between several managers. As previously reported, Helly Hansen's business in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Benelux countries is now supervised by Børre Hegbom, who is also in charge of the Nordics. Southern Europe is now managed by Carlos Bravo, a former Nike manager who previously ran Helly Hansen in Spain.
Central and Eastern Europe are covered by Gabi Rajna, who switched from Nike to Helly Hansen four years ago. She started in Hungary and went on to set up Helly Hansen's subsidiary in Poland last year, which led to the opening of three stores. She is now supervising the company's business in these two countries as well as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Balkans and Turkey.
Bob Donker, a Canadian manager based in Norway, is taking care of Russia, the Ukraine, South Korea and Japan. The company's new subsidiary started in Russia a few months ago. It has already opened four mono-brand stores and the number could be doubled by the end of this year.
Among the newcomers is Michael Uhl, who came from SC Johnson to become Helly Hansen's European marketing manager, covering all of Europe except for the Nordics and the U.K. Maurizio Priano, who was in charge of marketing in Southern Europe, switched to Salewa to become its marketing director.
The changes come after Helly Hansen lifted its sales by 14 percent for 2013, which was a little below the brand's target but still an ample gain given the circumstances in some of its largest markets. Furthermore, orders for the upcoming spring-summer season have jumped by 16 percent. As reported, a majority stake in Helly Hansen was sold in 2012 by Altor Equity Partners to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (OTPP).
