USA: Eric Dreyer Named President Of Brooks Sports
Brooks veteran Eric Dreyer was today named president of Brooks Sports, Inc. Most recently vice president of footwear for the running footwear and apparel company, Dreyer succeeds Bruce Pettet, who was recently named president and chief executive officer of Airwalk International. "Eric has been instrumental in building the Brooks brand to its current position of pre-eminence in the running world, and we know the company will continue to grow under his leadership," said Paul Vigano, principal at Whitney & Co, a private equity firm that acquired a significant ownership in Brooks in fall 1998. "We believe that Eric has the skills, experience, and leadership, to take the Brooks brand to an even higher level of performance and industry leadership," Vigano said. "We are very excited about the outlook for Brooks Sports with Eric at the helm." Dreyer said the company plans to continue with the strengthening of the Brooks brand, including targeted promotions in partnership with key retailers as the foundation of the company's grassroots marketing strategy. "We have an incredibly strong management team which has been together since 1995, and we will remain committed to designing superior running footwear and apparel, customer service excellence and continued sales growth," said Eric Dreyer. Dreyer took over leadership of the footwear product team at Brooks in 1995. Since then US sales rose 20 per cent in 1995, 53 percent in 1996, 48 per cent in 1997, 26 per cent in 1998, and 18 per cent in 1999. In 2000, Brooks continues to make dramatic progress towards establishing the brand as the leader in performance running. Brooks Sports distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories in more than 80 countries worldwide. The company's headquarters are located at 19820 North Creek Parkway, Suite 200, Bothell, Wash. 98011, near Seattle.
June 22, 2000