The sports company Puma has appointed Erik Janshen as Vice President Direct-to-Consumer. In this position, the 46-year-old will be in charge of the company’s direct sales channels such as the stores operated by Puma, its own website and other online marketplaces.

The German executive Janshen has more than 10 years of experience in leadership roles in digital sales and in DTC operations. His most recent role was SVP Digital Sales Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein at PVH Corp.

“Improving sales quality is one of the company’s strategic priorities. An important aspect of this is to provide consumers with a consistent shopping experience both online and offline and to connect them with the company’s products and initiatives,” says the sporting goods manufacturer.

“We are incredibly fortunate to welcome Erik to the PUMA family. I am confident that under his leadership we will achieve our ambitious goal of providing our customers with an even better brand experience on our DTC channels and increasing our brand desirability,” said Puma CEO Arne Freundt. “His innovative approach and passion for consumer-centric strategies will undoubtedly enrich our DTC business.”

Erik succeeds Karthik Balagopalan, who was appointed Managing Director of Puma India last year and led the DTC business on an interim basis.

FNW with dpa