Intersport International Inc. (IIC) named Amer Sports’ top marketing and retailing executive and West Point graduate Victor Duran as its first new CEO in 16 years.
Duran, 49, resigned as Amer Sports senior vice president of marketing and business-to-consumer and from its executive board May 17 to prepare for the role. He will begin working with current CEO Franz Julen at IIC’s headquarters in Bern, Switzerland Oct. 1 before taking the reins Jan. 1, 2017.
As IIC’s CEO, Duran will oversee the world’s largest sporting goods retailing organization. More than 5,320 Intersport branded stores in 45 countries generated revenues exceeding €11 billion in 2015. That’s nearly four times the $2.8 billion in sales generated by Amer Sports, which owns the Salomon, Wilson, Atomic, Arc’teryx, Precor, Suunto and Mavic brands.
Born in Mexico, Duran moved to the United States at the age of 11. After graduating West Point, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army, where he was stationed in Germany for three years. He earned an MBA in International Business and Marketing at the University of North Carolina before embarking on a business career that included working seven years for Procter & Gamble in Switzerland and the United States, five years as general manager of marketing EMEA for Caterpillar and two years working with consulting firms Hothouse in Switzerland and Zyman Group in the United Kingdom. In addition to English, he speaks Spanish, French and German. He grew up playing soccer and tennis and now is an avid skier, cyclist and runner.
Under Duran’s leadership, Amer Sports invested approximately €35 million last year expanding its direct-to-consumer business, which generated nearly $200 million, or approximately 7 percent, of the company’s sales in 2015. The company ended the year with 293 branded retail locations equally distributed between EMEA, the Americas and Asia Pacific, up 43 from the end of 2014. Nearly six in 10, or 57 percent, of those were operated by local, independent partners. Amer Sports also added 11 online stores, bringing its total to 71.
The bulk of IIC stores are also operated by franchisees, although the company has no presence in the Western Hemisphere outside of Canada, where 32 of its 44 Intersport branded stores operate in Quebec.
“Victor Duran knows the sporting goods market and our consumers very well,” said IIC Chairman Jussi Mikkola. “We have been convinced by his track record at Amer Sports, in particular in areas such as retail, digital, e-commerce and marketing. Having lived and worked in several countries and speaking four languages, he also has the human skills required and an understanding for different cultures.”
Amer Sports announced May 17 that it had appointed Michael White – chief sales officer and general manager, EMEA and Americas – as its chief commercial officer with the additional responsibility for the company’s global business-to-consumer and go-to-market marketing in addition to his current regional responsibilities.
“Over the past six years under Victor Duran’s leadership we have transformed Amer Sports into a leading omni-channel company with world-class e-commerce and digital consumer engagement and capabilities,” said Amer Sports President and CEO Heikki Takala. “Combining our go-to-market under one leadership will enable us to accelerate with further scale and synergies in our commercial operations.
