German sandal manufacturer Birkenstock has appointed Evelyn Chua as Managing Director for Southeast Asia and Down Under with effect from July 1 2024. In this newly created position, Chua will be based in Singapore and will be responsible for the Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand markets. She will report to Klaus Baumann, Chief Sales Officer of the Group.

With this appointment, the company, which has been owned by L Catterton, a private equity firm backed by French luxury group LVMH, since 2021, aims to “further expand its market presence in this dynamic growth region, strengthen its positioning across all channels and drive innovative retail formats.”

Evelyn Chua brings more than 15 years of experience in the retail industry to the role, spanning multiple categories across fashion, beauty, wines, spirits, watches and jewellery, as well as offline and online channels. Her responsibilities have included building strong relationships with strategic retail partners and talent management.

After studying in Singapore and Sweden, Chua spent six years working for DFS Venture, the well-known luxury travel retailer based in Hong Kong, where she was responsible for the Singapore and Myanmar region. With her team, she managed a very diverse retail business that included duty-free shops at Changi Airport and Singapore Cruise Centres, as well as downtown stores, online retail and wholesale.

In 2022, Evelyn joined Synagie, a company that operates over 1000 e-stores across seven markets in Southeast Asia for 600 brand partners, including Nike, Estee Lauder and L’Oréal. As Chief Commercial Officer, she was responsible for six countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam and the online business in various categories such as Premium/Mass Beauty, FMCG, Fashion.

“As we expand our online presence, I want to strengthen the relationship with our retailers who have been instrumental in our growth. We will support them in developing their product range strategy. At the same time, we want to accelerate our own business by opening new shops. The market offers both. We also want to ensure that our customers in Wholesale and Own Retail have the same shopping and service experience. I have always been a big fan of the footbed. During my studies, I only wore my two pairs of Madrid and my Mayari. Our brand is very well known in the region. I am convinced that it still has enormous growth potential,” comments Evelyn Chua on her future tasks.

“Southeast Asia is a region with enormous growth potential. With the additional capacity we have been able to provide since the commissioning of our new plant in Pasewalk in September 2023, we are now in a position to fulfil the needs of Asian customers for our products. With her vast experience in online and offline retail, Evelyn Chua is the perfect leader to expand our presence in this important region. Welcome on board!” says Chief Sales Officer Klaus Baumann, welcoming the new addition.

Based in Linz am Rhein, the Birkenstock Group, which employs around 6,200 people worldwide, has sales offices in the United States and Canada as well as in Brazil, Japan, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, the Netherlands, Dubai, Singapore and India. The company recently raised its sales forecast for the year as a whole following a buoyant second quarter, in which Asia in particular saw strong growth. This means that turnover in the 2023/24 financial year which ends in October is likely to increase by a fifth on a currency-adjusted basis.

FNW with dpa