Swimwear brand Speedo, part of Pentland Brands, which also owns the Berghaus, Canterbury of New Zealand, Endura, Ellesse, SeaVees and Mitre brands, has announced that it will return to a direct-to-retail business model in Germany. As one of the largest markets for swimwear in Europe – worth €486 million in 2021, according to Euromonitor International – Germany will become a priority market for Speedo, with plans to increase investment in marketing, customer service to retailers and key product categories. The German swimwear market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 8.7 percent over the next five years.
Speedo has appointed Johannes Graff as its new sales director for Germany to drive its ambitious market plans. Graff, who has spent more than 15 years managing sales, retail and marketing for companies including Speedo, Adidas and Masai Clothing, joins the company in April. The decision follows Speedo’s successful nine-year distribution partnership with the Italian Oberalp Group and marks the next chapter in Speedo’s story in Germany. However, Oberalp appears to remain responsible for the brand’s distribution in Italy, Austria and Poland.
Just a few days ago, it was announced that Craft of Scandinavia AB, which belongs to the New Wave Group, will hand over the distribution of the swimwear brand in the Scandinavian markets to Stockholm-based MnO International AB from 2023.
Pentland acquired the Speedo brand, founded in Australia in 1914, in 1991, but did not pick up the North American and Caribbean licenses to the brand until 2020, which was held by PVH Corp, giving the London-based company global control over the business.
