A seasoned sporting goods industry executive, Paul Gils, has joined New Era to head up its European office in London. Reporting directly to Pete Augustine, president of the fast-growing American sports headwear company, he is acting as vice president, responsible for marketing, sales and distribution activities in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
His nomination coincides with a variety of new initiatives intended to position New Era as an all-around lifestyle brand, going beyond hats and caps. For example, 10 months ago, the company recruited Oliver Hubbard, formerly with Nike U.K., to take on the role of European apparel manager. He is adapting the company's newly introduced apparel collection for the European market, particularly in T-shirts, outerwear and other tailored clothing.
Gils left Reebok last autumn after a three-year stint as vice president and brand director for the EMEA region. He had previously worked for many years as footwear director at Nike and as European general manager for Columbia Sportswear. At New Era, the Belgian executive replaces Bill Adams, who is returning to the U.S. after one year in London to become New Era's vice president of U.S. sales. Gils will be assisted on the marketing side by Matthew Griffiths, who worked formerly with the footwear licensee of G-Star Raw.
New Era plans to open a new flagship store in East London by next June, not far from one of the sites of the Olympic Games. It will be based on the new look that the brand inaugurated in the U.S. at two new locations in Los Angeles and Chicago late last year. Others will follow in the U.S. in the course of this year, starting with Miami and New Orleans. New Era is also looking for suitable sites for its own stores on the European Continent, but there is no precise timetable.
Meanwhile, New Era will carry on with its “fly your own flag” campaign. It will be further developed by Griffiths as an integrated multimedia plan in the U.K. and the rest of Europe, encompassing print, digital and outdoor advertising. It will feature testimonials such as the British footballer Darren Bent, the international sprinter Emmanuel Callender and the professional surfer Ezekiel Lau.
New Era expanded its exhibition space at last week's Bread & Butter trade show in Berlin, where it also presented the finalists of a creative project, challenging young consumers to work on blank caps that the company has been distributing since last October. A gallery of 80 selected caps has already toured six European countries. Cape Town will be next in February, and the final of the contest be held in Dubai in April.
While New Era is best known as the official on-field cap for Major League Baseball, the company took advantage of the B&B fair to present for the first time its complete NFL collection, which is going to be distributed globally from next month. New Era has already made a soft launch in Europe with 16 out of the 32 NFL teams, but it was waiting for the global rollout to market the whole collection, which will start in the U.S. on April 2. New Era also holds major licenses with the NHL and the NBA.
