Puma announced on Tuesday that it has named Marcia Dos Santos as vice president of its core business unit in a newly created role as the German sportswear maker continues to define how its dedicated segments in the marketplace operate.
Dos Santos is a 20 year Nike veteran and recently served as the vice president of merchandising for women’s product in Europe, Middle East and Africa. She has also held numerous merchandising director roles at Nike that have focused on markets outside of North America.
“Throughout her career, Marcia has delivered strong commercial results across regions and product categories for Women, Men and Kids, demonstrating outstanding go-to-market and merchandising skills,” Puma’s chief brand officer Maria Valdes said. “With her broad industry experience, strong commercial track record and ability to build successful teams, she is the right leader to take our Core business, Puma’s commercial engine, to the next level.”
In a message posted to LinkedIn, Dos Santos reflected on her time building an extensive
“I’ve chosen to stay in this industry for one reason: we have the privilege of selling the power of sport, getting people to move, to be healthy and happier,” Dos Santos said. “Twenty years across three continents taught me that the best businesses are built on that belief, not only on numbers. Building is what I love most — business, product and people.”
Dos Santos will report to Valdes and will begin working at Puma on July 15.
Puma has taken an aggressive stance in the first half of the years as it shapes its ongoing turnaround efforts. The company named Laurent Fricker as its vice president of its Sportstyle segment and Bertrand Blanc as its the global vice president of wholesale. Both moves were announced in April as CEO Arthur Hoeld said that month the company was intent on securing “financial headroom.”
“For the remainder of the year, we will continue to focus on improving the quality of our distribution, cost base and cash management. In doing so, we are laying the foundations for future growth,” Hoeld said. “We are on track to establish Puma as a top-3 sports brand globally, return to above-industry growth and generate healthy profits in the medium term.”
