Experienced industry officials have set up new distribution companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to take over sales of MBT shoes from the German and Swiss subsidiaries of Masai Distribution, the Singapore-based subsidiary of Star 360 that bought the global assets of the former Swiss-based Masai group in 2012.
Some of the officials, who have worked in the sporting goods sector, are going to try to establish the brand better in the sports retail channel.
Oliver Fischer, a Swiss executive who served as head of global marketing for MBT from 2005 to 2010, has set up a company in Switzerland, Movementum, that took over the distribution of the brand in the country in May from Swiss Masai Vertrieb (SMV). To ensure continuity, Movementum has hired two former employees of SMV – Markus Ott as head of sales and Marc Erb as costumer service manager.
Fischer has also set up a company in the German city of Würzburg, Sports Activities Vertrieb, for the distribution of all MBT products in Germany and Austria through all the sales channels, in partnership with Franz Rüding, a former manager of Adidas and Foot Locker. The head of sales for the new company is Ingo Neufling, who had a similar position at MBT Germany Vertrieb, the German subsidiary of the Masai group.
In this context, Berkemann, the German comfort shoe specialist, has stopped serving as MBT's agent in Germany and Austria. Sports Activities Vertrieb will take care of reorders for the spring/summer season and try to better establish the MBT brand in the sports retail channel.
One reason for the break-up with Berkemann was that it could not properly sell MBT's new line of running shoes, introduced globally 18 months ago, to sporting goods retailers and running specialists. Andy Chaw, president of Star 360, says that its sell-through has been very strong, contributing 35 percent of MBT's global revenues.
The line is said to be primarily aimed at running beginners, setting it apart from the competition. Chaw, who also distributes some 30 other brands in Asian markets, is a strong believer in MBT's new line of Rocker running shoes, claiming that their rolling motion and their smooth toe off the ground allow for a better and more efficient run.
With their mid-foot strike, the shoes come in three rocking levels with motion control. A patented two-sensor technology adds comfort to the normal cushioning features of a running shoe.
Masai Distribution will continue to service the Italian, Spanish and U.K. markets through its existing subsidiaries, which are performing relatively well. Like the former German and Swiss subsidiaries, they were all reporting to Stefano Straforini, a former manager of Diadora, based in Italy, who was hired in November 2015 to supervise Masai's European sales.
Masai Distribution is about to appoint a new global sales director to take the place of Bob Dyer, a U.S.-based manager who left the company last year. Andy Chaw has been running the operation in the interim, signing up new distributors also in Israel, China and Taiwan.
Masai is in close discussions with other potential distributors in different continents. It still has to choose one of several candidates for the U.S. market, where MBT is doing well. Chaw says his company would prefer to continue running MBT in the U.S. through its own subsidiary unless it can find a committed and experienced brand-builder in the country.
