Birkenstock has appointed Evelyn Chua as managing director for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, effective July 1. In this newly created role, Chua will lead the company from its regional headquarters in Singapore, which includes Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, and New Zealand.
Chua reports to Klaus Baumann, chief sales officer at the Birkenstock Group.
The company said in a media release that the “high-profile recruitment reinforces its effort to deepen its footprint within this region further, elevating Birkenstock’s positioning across all channels and pushing innovative retail formats.
With over 15 years experience in the retail industry, spanning across multiple categories in fashion, beauty, wines and spirits, watches and Jewelry, and across offline and online channels, Chua is said to be “an expert in developing strong relationships with all distributors and retail store partners, identifying opportunities, planning and executing concrete plans, and managing talent.”
After studying in Singapore and Sweden, Chua worked for six years for DFS Venture, the Hong Kong-based travel retailer of luxury goods, where she led the company’s Singapore and Myanmar regions. With her team, she reportedly managed a “very diverse retail business, which included duty-free shops at Changi Airport and Singapore Cruise Centers, its downtown stores, online retail and wholesale business.
In 2022, Chua joined Synagie, which operates over 1,000 e-stores in seven Southeast Asian markets for 600 brand partners, including Nike, Estee Lauder and L’Oréal. As chief commercial officer, she was responsible for six countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam) and its online business across categories. She also managed 400 stores on marketplaces and e-commerce.
As Birkenstock’s managing director for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Chua noted she “aims to develop the company’s multi-channel strategy and grow the APMA region.”
Said Chua, “While expanding our presence online, I want to maintain a strong relationship with our distributors, who have been instrumental in our growth. We can help them to develop their assortment strategy, but we want, as well, to accelerate our own business by opening new stores.
“We also need to ensure that our stores offer the same experience to our clients. The devil often hides in the details, and we need to make sure that we propose the same level of service throughout the customer journey. I’ve always been a firm believer of the footbed.
In my university days, I only wore my two pairs of Madrid and my Mayari. Our brand enjoys a strong awareness in the region. I am convinced that its margin for growth is still enormous,” concluded Chua.
Baumann said, “Southeast Asia is a region with a huge growth potential. With the additional capacity that we can allocate since the go-live of our new plant in Pasewalk in September 2023, we are now able to meet the needs of the Asian customers for our products. With a very strong online and offline retail experience, I am convinced that Evelyn Chua is the perfect leader to manage our presence in this very important region. Welcome aboard!”
Image courtesy Birkenstock
