K-Swiss has appointed industry veteran Andrew Richard as Vice President of Lifestyle, a newly created role. Most recently, Richard served as VP / GM of North America at FootBalance System, where he helped the company build and expand the distribution of its 3D foot scanning and custom insole technology.
Past roles include VP of North America Commerce at Asics, Global Head of Footwear Merchandising at Puma, Senior Director of Footwear Merchandising and Wholesale Marketing Manager for North America at Timberland, National Sales Director for Better Department Stores at Reebok and Strategic Channel and Key Account Executive at Nike, among others.
In his new role at K-Swiss, Richard will lead lifestyle sales for the Americas, including the wholesale sales team and K-Swiss distributors. He will report to Barney Waters, who returned to the company as International Brand President in November.
K-Swiss, a heritage American athletic shoe brand founded in California in 1966, is currently owned by Hong Kong-based sports firm Xtep International, which is also the mother company of the Xtep, Saucony, Merrell and Palladium brands. Xtep International acquired K-Swiss in 2019.
