Brown Shoe Company, Inc. has made four strategic additions to the leadership team within its American Sporting Goods (ASG) division, appointing Jim Hoff as VP sales across all ASG brands, Alan Vickers as VP international, Brad Little as VP & brand manager Avia� and Nevados�, and Jorge Cabrera as VP athletic product development.
Tim Joyce, who took on the role of SVP & general manager of ASG in May, was instrumental in the selection of the vice presidents. The evolution of the new ASG team is the result of a six-month transition following Brown Shoe's acquisition of ASG in February, adding the Avia, ryka�, AND 1� and Nevados brands to the healthy living area of its portfolio.
“With this tremendous leadership team now in place, coupled with Tim Joyce and the existing ASG talent, we are moving forward to truly realizing our investment in ASG. Strengthening these brands continues our commitment to consumers pursuing healthy lifestyles, and expands the reach to customers of our performance athletic, sport and outdoor offerings,” said Brown Shoe president and chief executive officer Diane Sullivan.
Hoff will be responsible for sales and distribution strategies across the entire ASG family of brands, working closely with VP of sales Bob Echterling. He has nearly 20 years of experience with ASICS America, most recently as VP sales – Athletic Footwear, Apparel, Accessories, where he led sales management teams for North, Central and South America.
Vickers will guide the division's international expansion by refining and broadening retail distribution and merchandising. He brings to Brown Shoe a thorough knowledge of the international sports and consumer goods markets honed through a series of management positions with companies like Reebok, Nautilus and Starbuck's throughout North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, including four years as president of Nike France.
Little's responsibilities for the Avia and Nevados brands include product development leadership and advancing brand strategy through consumer insights. He brings to Brown Shoe more than 25 years of brand management, sales, marketing and product development experience in the athletic footwear and apparel industries with Le Chameau premium handcrafted rubber boots, Decker's Outdoor, Columbia Sportswear and Nike. Little started in the industry with adidas, growing the brand's running business in a series of positions over seven years.
Cabrera joined Brown Shoe in 2010 to oversee product development and design of athletic footwear across several healthy living brands, and now moves to focus exclusively on ASG. His background includes more than 22 years of experience in athletic footwear and apparel manufacturing, operations, product development, and logistics, most recently as vice president-Operations and Manufacturing at Brooks Sports. Prior to joining Brooks Sports in 1992, Cabrera held production-focused positions at Wolverine Worldwide and LA Gear.
“Jim and Alan's expertise setting successful domestic and international sales strategies in the sport, fitness and wellness areas are critical to our efforts to expand distribution to existing customers and add new ones, driving sustainable growth for ASG brands. Brad's vision and product development knowledge paired with Jorge's prowess with performance design and technology will enable us to connect more deeply with consumers as we enhance each brand's positioning in the marketplace,” said Joyce.
