Ulf Gustafsson, former chief executive and board director of the Fenix Outdoor group, has been appointed to the helm of Tretorn, a Swedish brand that has been entirely owned by the Puma group for many years. The German company wants to use Tretorn as another platform to move into the outdoor market.
Tretorn was previously headed by Magnus Månsson, sales manager, who became managing director of Craft in June. Gustafsson will assume the same position at Tretorn from the beginning of September. He will directly supervise the brand’s performance division and its sales in Europe, while Loris Spadaccini remains the general manager for the Tretorn lifestyle division, in charge of the brand’s sales in North America and Asia Pacific.
Gustafsson was chief executive of the Fenix group for about one year until February 2006, and went on to establish She Shop, a chain of Swedish sports stores for women. He is currently export manager of Future Trading, a Swedish eyewear company specializing in sunglasses and ski goggles, the latter marketed under the Dr. Zipe brand.
Tretorn has its heritage in the outdoor business, but its brand positioning has been diffuse in the last years, particularly outside Sweden. A large share of Tretorn’s business is derived from sales of tennis balls and footwear, but it continues to sell rubber boots and sneakers. The brand is sold in about 20 countries, either through Puma subsidiaries, Tretorn’s own offices or independent distributors.
Puma’s strategic investment in the management of Tretorn comes just after Asics agreed to purchase Haglöfs, seemingly underlining the interest of leading athletic brands in the outdoor business. Puma said it wanted to take part in the growing outdoor market through Tretorn, but also from another angle with the Puma brand, by building on its investments in the sailing category.