Nike Inc. Hires Veteran Luxury Goods Retail Executive To Lead Its Dress and Casual Footwear and Accessories Brand
BEAVERTON, Ore (15 February, 2006) – Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) today announced that it has hired veteran luxury goods retail executive James Seuss as Chief Executive Officer of the company's Cole Haan brand, effective May 15, 2006. Cole Haan is a leading designer and marketer of luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats.
Seuss, 42, joins the company from Harry Winston, where he was president of the luxury diamond jeweler. Prior to Harry Winston, Seuss was a senior executive with Gucci Group, where he established a joint venture with Stella McCartney and ran the London-based fashion house as its first Chief Executive Officer. Seuss also has held senior leadership positions with Tiffany & Co in Europe and Asia, including managing director of Tiffany UK. Seuss also managed Tiffany's growth strategy and retail expansion throughout Asia.
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“The Cole Haan brand is an important growth engine for Nike,” said Mark Parker, President and CEO of Nike Inc. “Cole Haan's luxury brand positioning in premium dress and casual footwear and accessories provides us with an exciting growth platform beyond Nike's core athletic market. I look forward to working very closely with James and am confident he is the right person to lead Cole Haan to the next stage of growth.”
Based in Maine and New York City, Cole Haan is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nike Inc. Cole Haan designs and markets luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats for men and women under the brand names of Cole Haan, G Series and Bragano. Cole Haan products are distributed through premium retailers and more than 50 company-owned Cole Haan stores. In 2004, Footwear News named Cole Haan as its Company of the Year and Gordon Thompson, Cole Haan's Creative Director and formerly Nike's Global Creative Director, was named Accessories Designer of the Year by the Accessories Council.
“I am extremely excited to be joining the Nike family and to lead Cole Haan”, Seuss said. “Cole Haan's growth has been impressive and we have extraordinary opportunities to continue to grow the business, particularly in women's footwear and handbags as well as internationally as we expand beyond the US. I am looking forward to collaborating with Mark and Gordon and the tremendously talented Cole Haan team; I share their passion and their commitment to building Cole Haan into a global fashion lifestyle brand.”
About NIKE, Inc.
NIKE, Inc. based in Beaverton, Oregon is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly-owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; NIKE Bauer Hockey Inc., a leading designer and distributor of hockey equipment; Cole Haan, a leading designer and marketer of luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats; Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories and Exeter Brands Group LLC, which designs and markets athletic footwear and apparel for the value retail channel.
About Karen Harvey Consulting
The executive search was conducted by Karen Harvey and Jacqui Marcus of Karen Harvey Consulting, the international consulting firm. Karen Harvey has a long relationship with Nike and has worked with Nike's senior team on numerous projects over the past 12 years. Karen Harvey Consulting has offices in New York and London and focuses on working with a select group of creatively driven consumer goods, fashion and retail clients.