Birkenstock hired Tiffany Wu as managing director of Greater China. Most recently, she managed the Greater China region for Blue Nile, the world’s largest online diamond sales company.
In this newly created role, Wu will lead Birkenstock’s business in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, driving brand equity and sales in the region. She reports to Klaus Baumann, chief sales officer of the Birkenstock Group.
Oliver Reichert, director of Birkenstock Holding plc and chief executive officer of the Birkenstock Group, said, “Greater China is the strongest growth driver for us in the APMA region alongside India and Japan. Unlike many other brands, we haven’t faced consumer headwinds in the last months, quite the opposite. And, in view of the latest economic outlook, we expect this positive trend to continue or accelerate. This is supported by the business in our own digital channels, which has developed extremely positively in China this year.
“With the additional capacity that we can allocate since the go-live of our new plant in Pasewalk in September 2023, we now have the bandwidth to satisfy Chinese consumers’ appetite for our products. In the past three years, we have started to implement our engineered distribution playbook in the region. We are now ready to take the next step in our growth journey. It’s the perfect moment for Tiffany Wu to join the team. Welcome aboard!”
Wu has over 18 years of fashion and luxury end-to-end omni-channel expertise in China. Since 2021, she has managed the Greater China region (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau) for Blue Nile, the world’s largest online diamond sales company.
Previously, Wu led the Fung Retailing-Asia Retail Company (ARC), which assists foreign companies in the Chinese market.
Wu said, “Birkenstock’s growth potential is enormous in this market. In fact, the current timing is very favorable for our brand because since COVID, the Chinese have become more health-conscious, and young people want to protect the environment. Our products meet these expectations perfectly. As we ramp up our production capacity, we will unlock the large growth potential of China and the whole APMA region, which has generated significant latent demand that we have been unable to fulfill in recent years, given more limited supply. Our targeted growth strategies will build upon our growing popularity in the region’s underdeveloped markets, including China, where our brand is nascent.”
Photos courtesy Birkenstock
