K-Swiss appointed Eric Sarin as the company’s new vice president of product. Sarin will oversee all facets of K-Swiss product strategy, design and development globally. Sarin will be headquartered in Westlake Village, CA, reporting directly to CMO, Barney Waters.
“Eric is a great combination of creativity and strategic leadership with a very strong global point of view,” said Waters. “With K-Swiss under new ownership, we plan on bringing the brand back to prominence, and hiring Eric is a big piece of the puzzle.”
Sarin brings 17 years of global experience in the athletic and lifestyle footwear industries to KSwiss. Most recently, Sarin was part of the team responsible for the impressive turnaround of the Le Coq Sportif brand. He was based in Paris and held various roles including global director of product. Prior to Le Coq Sportif, he served as international business unit manager at Puma, leading the lifestyle business and seasonal creative concepts from 2002-2008. From 1996-2002, Sarin worked for Adidas AG where he held various U.S. and European design and product management roles, including senior product manager for Adidas Originals Footwear.
“K-Swiss is great brand with a truly amazing history and story,” said Sarin. “I am genuinely excited to be part of the team challenged with putting the company back on a track to reaching its full potential.”
The K-Swiss Inc., and its affiliate Palladium and OTZ Shoes brands, are registered trademarks of E. Land World Limited. Founded more than forty years ago in Van Nuys, California, K-Swiss introduced the first all leather tennis shoe, the K-Swiss “Classic” in 1966. Since its inception, K-Swiss aims to be the most inspiring and innovative sports brand in the market offering performance product for tennis, running, training and triathlon categories. Palladium was originally founded in 1920 as a manufacturer of aircraft tires for the aviation industry. In 1947, after the end of WWII saw demand for tires dry up, Palladium put their canvas and rubber expertise to use by making boots that were as hard wearing as their tires. Palladium soon became outfitters of the legendary French Foreign Legion with their classic canvas Pampa boot. OTZ SHOES is the premium maker of modern comfort inspired from the past. Cork footbeds are integral to every shoe engineered to gradually mold to your individual footscape.
Established in 1980 in Korea, E.Land has grown to become one of the largest South Korean conglomerates, primarily specializing in fashion and retail distribution.
