Fila USA named athletic footwear and apparel industry veteran Bruce Fendell as its new VP of sales. Fendell, 51, joins Fila USA after spending the past four years as SVP sales for the On-Field division of Reebok International. Prior to his time at Reebok, Fendell spent more than 17 years in senior level sales and product merchandising roles with adidas, Pony and Apex One. From 1996 to 2003, he was director of footwear and key account sales for adidas America.

Fendell will be in integral member of the new management team brought in by Fila Korea Ltd. and its holding company Global Leading Brands House (GLBH) after its purchase of the company in March of this year. He will be based in the company’s New York office

Working closely with Jon Epstein, Fila president and a former colleague from adidas, Fendell will focus on rebuilding Fila’s footwear and apparel distribution in athletic specialty and sporting goods trade channels as well as in golf and tennis specialty accounts. Additionally, he will selectively expand the brand’s penetration within key mid-market retailers.

Epstein said, “There is no one in this industry who is better qualified or more capable to fill this role than Bruce Fendell. We are very excited to have him as a member of our team and we look forward to the impact his efforts will have on our brand.”

Said Fendell, “I am equally as excited to be working with Jon again as well as with the new ownership group at Fila. This is an exceptional brand with enormous upside potential.”