Ecco is expected to rejuvenate its product range offering new and more fashionable styles, especially in its 1,200 plus single-brand stores around the world, following the appointment of Paul Janssen to the new position of branding director in charge of external sourcing starting in January 2014. The experienced 49 year old Dutch product development expert will move from Germany to Denmark and report to Andreas Wortmann, Ecco’s executive vice president.
Currently, only about ten per cent of the 20 million pairs of shoes sold by Ecco are sourced from factories that don’t belong to this vertically integrated group. Janssen’s job is to create, implement and execute a new external sourcing strategy to improve the attractiveness of the company’s product range for its shops and its partners around the world. He will also attempt to move sourcing closer to the market, reducing lead times.
