Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group (PLG) announced today that it has hired Dan Brausch to head its International team, supporting PLG’s global growth initiatives for all its brands including Sperry Top-Sider, Saucony, Keds and Stride Rite Children’s Group targeting Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Brausch will begin in his new role Jan. 20th and report to Gregg Ribatt, president and chief executive officer of the Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group. He will head up the International division for PLG to help drive growth for each brand in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Brausch’s specific responsibilities will include direct management for the company’s European operations headquartered in the Netherlands, as well as responsibilities for PLG’s additional international operations based in Lexington, which manages each brand’s presence and business in Asia and Latin America.
"Dan has extensive global business knowledge in the footwear, handbag and accessory market and great experience launching brands in new markets across the globe," said Ribatt. "He has worked on a wide array of brands in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia and has managed a broad range of activities including new market entry and expansion including establishing distribution networks, retail partner alliances, setting up local infrastructure, as well as sales, marketing and finance support. We look forward to leveraging his expertise to help drive growth in our business across the globe."
Brausch most recently served as President, North America for Radley + Co. Ltd., where he was responsible for the North American operation for the Radley brand, the U.K.’s premium bridge handbag brand and its initial launch and presence throughout North America. From 1995 to 2008, he was with Reebok International serving in a range of roles including head of North American Retail; President of Reebok Canada; Vice President and General Manager of Central Europe; and General Manager and Regional Director, Independent Distributors, where he negotiated and established distributor relationships in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East for Reebok. He started his career at Reebok in 1995 as Finance and Operations Director for the Americas Division. Brausch began his career with soccer and athletic brand, Umbro, in 1989.
Brausch holds a Bachelor of Science degree in financial management from Bob Jones University and a Master of Business Administration from Clemson University.
About Collective Brands Performance +Lifestyle Group
Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group is a leading provider of iconic performance and lifestyle brands, each with unique personalities and strong marketplace positions focused on distinct and targeted consumer segments. The company’s brand portfolio includes Saucony(R), a top global running specialty brand; Sperry Top-Sider(R), a global nautical lifestyle brand reaching consumers who share a passion for life in, on and around the sea; Keds(R), an iconic American lifestyle fashion brand that invented the sneaker in 1916; and Stride Rite, the leading provider of premium children’s footwear in the United States. With an expanding global presence in more than 80 countries, Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group sells its products predominantly through wholesalers in a wide variety of retail formats, including premier department stores, independent shoe stores and specialty and boutique retailers. The Stride Rite unit also sells its children’s products through more than 360 wholly-owned Stride Rite stores that are located in malls and select factory outlet centers.
About Collective Brands, Inc.
Collective Brands, Inc. (NYSE: PSS) is a leader in bringing compelling lifestyle, fashion and performance brands for footwear and related accessories to consumers worldwide. The company operates three strategic units covering a powerful brand portfolio, as well as multiple price points and selling channels including retail, wholesale, ecommerce and licensing. Collective Brands, Inc. includes Payless ShoeSource, focused on democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories through its more than 4,500-store retail chain, with its brands Airwalk(R), Dexter(R), Champion(R), Zoe & Zac(TM), the first-ever affordable green footwear brand, and designer collections Lela Rose for Payless, Unforgettable Moments by Lela Rose, alice + olivia for Payless, Christian Siriano for Payless and STLP x Airwalk, among others; Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group, focused on lifestyle and performance branded footwear and high-quality children’s footwear sold primarily through wholesaling, with its brands including Stride Rite(R), Keds(R), Sperry Top-Sider(R), Robeez(R), and Saucony(R), among others; and Collective Licensing International, the brand development, management and global licensing unit, with such youth lifestyle brands as Airwalk(R), Vision Street Wear(R), Sims(R), Lamar(R) and LTD(R).
Information about, and links for shopping on, each of the Collective Brand’s units can be found at www.collectivebrands.com.
(Source: Collective Brands)