Dive Brief:
- As part of a decision to split global retail and e-commerce into separate departments, Puma has named Ronald Reijmers vice president of global retail effective Nov. 1, according to a press release. Erik Janshen, who was vice president in charge of both global retail and e-commerce, is leaving Puma.
- In his new position, Reijmers will oversee the development of the Puma brand’s full-price and outlet stores around the world. He willl report to Puma Chief Commercial Officer Matthias Bäumer. A new leader for global e-commerce has yet to be announced, but will be “in the coming weeks.”
- Reijmers joins Puma from Gymshark where he held the position of interim global retail director for just over one year. Before that Reijmers spent almost five years with Adidas as its head of retail for Europe, and prior to that spent more than 20 years in various roles with Nike.
Dive Insight:
Reijmers joins Puma at a pivotal time, as the retailer separates its e-commerce and retail divisions. While his counterpart in e-commerce has yet to be named, Reijmers will now head up retail across the global company.
“Ronald is a highly experienced leader with a strong track record across the industry, who will bring a deep global expertise in retail strategy and operations and help us build momentum in our global retail channel,” Bäumer said in a statement. “I want to thank Erik for building a strong foundation for a more holistic and profitable direct-to-consumer business and wish him all the best for the future.”
The hiring of Reijmers comes at a time when Puma is experiencing uneven sales growth due in part to the effects of global tariffs and inflation. The German brand reported a currency adjusted sales decline of 2% for Q2 and lowered its earnings expectations for the remainder of the fiscal year. Puma will report Q3 earnings on Thursday.
Reijmers joining Puma is part of a C-suite overhaul at the brand and an evolution of how it wishes to be perceived in the marketplace.
As part of its long-term restructuring, Puma this summer named former Adidas CIO Andreas Hubert to the position of chief operating officer. Puma added Thomas John as its new vice president of people and organization, succeeding Dietmar Knoess, earlier this month. Other recent hires include industry veteran Archie McEachern as vice president of its basketball business, filling a vacancy after Max Staiger left Puma to join Adidas in a similar role at the beginning of the year.
Puma is also investing deeply in a brand revamp. The retailer said it would increase marketing investments by a record 40% this year as part of a brand identity refresh. The company also officially opened a 20,000-square-foot West Coast design office this month in West Hollywood, California.
