Phoenix Footwear Group, Inc. announced the appointment of Robert Orlando as president of the company's Royal Robbins division. Mr. Orlando, a 30-year veteran of the footwear and apparel industry, and most recently the president of Teva Footwear, will lead Phoenix Footwear's Royal Robbins brand of men's and women's outdoor specialty lifestyle apparel.
Mr. Orlando will succeed Francisco Morales, who has elected to pursue a career as an independent apparel sourcing consultant. Mr. Morales will remain with Phoenix Footwear on a category exclusive consulting basis, where he will lead product creation and development of Royal Robbins apparel and lend textile development expertise to other Phoenix Footwear units.
Richard White, president and CEO Phoenix Footwear, commented, “Bob is a seasoned footwear and apparel executive with a strong knowledge base and track record in Royal Robbins' active outdoor specialty retail category. He has driven impressive growth within the brands he has led, including both Teva Footwear as well as Adidas' line of men's and women's outdoor/athletic footwear and apparel. We look forward to working with Bob and utilizing his deep experience and expertise in all areas of the business, including sales and marketing, design and development.”
Mr. White continued, “I would also like to thank Francisco Morales for his strong contributions to Phoenix Footwear. As president of Royal Robbins, Francisco generated significant growth at the unit and built it into one of Phoenix Footwear's strongest brands. We are very pleased to become Francisco's first consulting client. To derive the benefit of Francisco and Bob's contributions will be an ideal situation, which can only strengthen the brand.”
Mr. Orlando commented, “Royal Robbins has built on its outstanding heritage as an authentic outdoor brand with quality products, targeted distribution, a loyal customer base and strong brand recognition in the outdoor retail market. I appreciate the opportunity to lead the Royal Robbins team, and look forward to applying my skills and knowledge of this retail segment to drive continued growth and profitability at the brand.”
Mr. Morales commented, “I enjoyed my tenure as president of Royal Robbins and I am proud to have helped build the men's and women's outdoor clothing line into a brand with critical mass in the retail marketplace. I also want to thank the Phoenix Footwear team for their support over the years, and I look forward to continued success with Royal Robbins and Phoenix Footwear in my new role.”
Robert Orlando is a 30-year veteran of the footwear and apparel industry. Most recently, Mr. Orlando served as president of Teva Footwear, a division of Deckers Outdoor Corporation, where he was responsible for the global marketing and development of all Teva-branded footwear and apparel, increasing sales from $61 million to $88 million over a five year period. Prior to Teva, Mr. Orlando worked at Adidas Salomon from 1996 to 2000. Mr. Orlando served both as business unit manager and later vice president of footwear and apparel, overseeing the development and marketing of all Adidas Salomon footwear and apparel for North America, and driving significant sales growth during his tenure. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Orlando was the president of Newport Outfitters, directing the development and marketing of a men's and women's casual footwear line. During his career, Mr. Orlando has also held sales and marketing positions at Sports, Inc., Lord Jeff Sweaters, and Puritan Sportswear.
