Under Armour, Inc. appointed Peter Mahrer as president and managing director for Under Armour Europe, B.V. Mahrer, a seasoned industry executive, will oversee Under Armour's European operations headquartered in Amsterdam. He will be responsible for executing the Company's international growth strategy by continuing to develop Under Armour's authentic athletic brand position and rapidly expanding distribution in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He will report directly to Kevin Plank, President and CEO of Under Armour and replaces Ryan Wood who is returning to the U.S. as planned in a reduced role where he will continue to leverage his global sales experience to support the Brand's growth initiatives.
Prior to his tenure at Puma, Mr. Mahrer held executive positions at adidas AG, including head of the Global Football unit where he was responsible for development and implementation of all product categories and sports marketing. In this position he was responsible for building the Company's relationships with key football organizations including FIFA and UEFA as well as its sponsorship of professional club teams such as AC Milan. He also led adidas' R&D efforts as head of its Advanced Product Group. In addition, Mr. Mahrer previously held a senior position at Intersport International Corp.
Mr. Plank said, “We believe the opportunity for Under Armour's brand of authenticity in the European markets is boundless and having Peter lead our team in Amsterdam is the next logical step as we execute our strategic growth initiatives. Peter's breadth and depth of experience in our industry across the sales, product and marketing disciplines will ensure that we deliver our universal guarantee of performance to our growing consumer base in Europe. His proven skill set of building great teams, developing strong partnerships and delivering great product to the marketplace will help build on the foundation for growth in this critical region.”
“Much as he was here when we founded the Under Armour brand in the U.S., Ryan Wood was a driving force behind establishing our authentic brand position and distribution in Europe. His leadership in opening more than 1000 authentic athletic retail doors where Under Armour is now sold across Europe and in driving our on-field presence on athletes across our key markets in the United Kingdom, France and Germany was a critical contribution toward the foundation for sustained growth we are building across the Continent.”
The company has identified the European market as a key growth driver for long-term profitability. It is focused on three key initiatives to build the platform for growth: establishing an authentic, on-field presence for its performance apparel through key teams and athletes across a wide variety of sports including football, rugby and cricket; developing an authentic athletic retail distribution network through relationships with key sporting goods retailers; and building the team and infrastructure to execute against the growth strategy.
Under Armour established its European headquarters in Amsterdam in January 2006. The company sells its performance apparel and accessories on a direct basis in the United Kingdom and has established a network of distributors to sell its product throughout Western Europe and the Nordic region. Last month, the company announced that it has signed an agreement with Unlimited Sports Group (USG), an integrated wholesale and retail organization, to manage the distribution of Under Armour products to Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Under Armour is sold through Equation Performance in France; Main Sport in Germany; Sportbox SRL in Italy and MnO International in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.
