Podium Distribution, designer, marketing and distributing arm of DVS Shoe Company, Matix Clothing, and Lakai Limited Footwear, announced its most recently established subsidiary office located in Guangzhou, China, to be named Podium Asia. This new subsidiary will focus on footwear production, R&D footwear development, and raw material sourcing for DVS and Lakai shoes.
Kevin Ridge, originally from Boston, Massachusetts, has been appointed vice president of Asia footwear production for Podium Asia. For the past five years, Kevin has been involved with the action sports industry, specifically within the skate shoe market. Kevin has been a resident of Asia for over 25 years and speaks Mandarin.
“The action sports industry is really an exciting area of the footwear industry to be involved in right now. This move to Southern China will only strengthen Podiums sourcing and manufacturing operations,” said Ridge.
Prior to entering the action sports industry, Kevin worked as vice president of Asco General Supplies in Hong Kong, overseeing the Asian sourcing for all of LA Gear footwear. Kevin spent time sourcing footwear in Taiwan, Korea, and Indonesia, with such companies as Reebok and Nike. Kevin was one of the first Expats in the shoe industry to go to China to produce footwear in the early 80s.
“We are excited about Podium Asia and looking forward to having Kevin as part of the Podium team,” said Mark Feig, executive vice president of Podium Distribution.
