The World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) has decided to set up an Asia office in Hong Kong and has launched a job search for its director. Reporting directly to its head office in Switzerland, it will act mainly as a full-service organization intended to support WFSGI's Asian members, whose number has grown to almost 100 small and large companies, and to develop new memberships in the region.
WFSGI has also announced the reactivation of the World Sports Forum (WSF) organization, which was founded in 1997 and has remained dormant since its last conference, held in Lausanne in 2002. No decision will be made about the program, the venue or the timing of its next convention until WFSGI's annual meeting during the Ispo Munich show next February, after a change in the association's by-laws.
Meanwhile, WFSGI has taken full control over the association, whose board previously featured also a banker, a representative of the International Olympic Committee and other external persons. A general assembly of the association held last July 1 elected Frank A. Dassler, the current president of WFSGI, as the new president of WSF for a one-year period, succeeding Stephen Rubin, chairman and co-owner of Pentland Group. Robbert De Kock, secretary general of WFSGI, will replace André Gorgemans as secretary general of the association. Rubin and Gorgemans will retain their former titles on an honorary basis. A new WDF Committee groups the entire executive board of WFSGI and a past president of the organization, Michel Perraudin.
De Kock says he has received a very positive response to the initiative. Meanwhile, senior executives of many important companies have signed up to participate in the new WFSGI Manufacturers Forum due to be held in Leipzig, Germany, on Nov. 13-14, coinciding with new indications by big players such as Adidas and Puma that they are considering bringing back some production to Europe.
Besides Adidas and Puma, the long list of registered visitors includes delegates from companies such as Accell Group, Amer Sports, Asics, Cervelo/Pon, Descente, Nike, Odlo, Pentland Brands, Shimano, Under Armour, Vaude and Yue Yuen, to name a few.
One of the highlights will be a panel discussion on the integration of design into manufacturing with the participation of Herbert Hainer, chief executive of Adidas, and top executives of Under Armour, Karl Lagerfeld and Porsche. The full program of the convention is on WFSGI's website.
