Eric Bascle, former executive vice president at the Lacoste group, has been appointed as chief executive at Black Crows from the start of December. He is taking over from Cedric Charbin, who had decided to leave the French freeride skiing specialist back in July for personal reasons.
Formerly a consultant and then at Carrefour, the French retailer, Bascle has been involved with Lacoste for several years, from 2009 as head of strategy and development at Maus Frères. Nearly five years ago he became chairman and chief executive at Devanlay, the manufacturing and sourcing division of Lacoste, and he was in charge of the Lacoste group's global operations and supply chain. Lacoste was the official sponsor of the French Olympic ski team in Sochi. Bascle was described as an avid skier and outdoor enthusiast.
As reported earlier this year, Black Crows has been expanding rapidly in terms of markets and product ranges under Charbin's leadership. He joined two years ago from the Wolverine Worldwide group, where he was French country manager for Merrell and Chaco, supervising the Spanish subsidiary and the Italian distributor for Merrell as well.
While developing in Alpine markets, sales began on a small scale in the U.S. market last year and the brand is reaching more than 30 U.S. stores this winter. A distribution agreement was inked in Russia with Capital Distribution, which sells predominantly action sports brands such as Billabong and Electric.
While the company is testing the waters this year, distribution will start next season. Another area of strong development is the Black Crows technical apparel range, which has been well-received. Black Crows has obtained orders from Colette, the trend store in Paris, and opening its first corner at the Galeries Lafayette.
Black Crows said that Bascle's expertise in retailing and apparel would support further expansion for the brand. Based in Chamonix, Black Crows raised €3 million from private investors in June.
