Former Reebok boss joins SportPursuit.com

Sports flash sales site SportPursuit.com has named former managing director of Reebok, Kath Smith, as its chief sales officer, as its plots its European expansion. SportPursuit, which turned three years old this month, runs week-long branded promotions on premium sports and outdoor

brands, offering discounts to its members of between 40 and 70 percent off retail price.

Smith joins SportPursuit from the Adidas Group where she has worked for 17 years in a n

umber of positions, most recently as managing director for adidas in the UK and Ireland and Reebok in North Europe. She is credited with leading a five-fold increase in revenues during her tenure with the Adidas brand and more recently led the brand re-positioning of Reebok.

Commenting on her appointment, Smith said: “SportPursuit has massive potential and I’m here to help realise that. I’m super impressed with the leadership team, the premium positioning of the business, the quality of the 600+ brands we’re already working with and the potential for European expansion.

“What attracted me was the fact that there’s no conflict with brands, with circa 90 percent of sales being made on impulse. So these purchases are not only creating new demand, they are complementary to other routes to market.”

SportPursuit.com hires Kath Smith as it plots European expansion

Adam Pikett, chief executive and co-founder of SportPursuit, added: “SportPursuit offers brands another route to market that complements and does not cannibalise their existing distribution channels. Bringing Kath on-board with her wealth of brand experience and detailed understanding of premium sports brands takes us another important step along this journey.

“Kath brings with her the same passion for the sports industry that we as founders share. She also has great integrity and a proven track record of delivering long term sustained growth.”

The London-based e-tailer has more than one million members and it works with more than 600 leading sports brands including Berghaus, Salomon, Marmot, Helly Hansen, Canterbury, Garmin, GoPro and Icebreaker.

The sports flash sales site has secured over 7 million pound investment, backed by venture capital investor group, DFJ Esprit with participation from Silicon Valley Bank and prominent entrepreneurs including William Reeve, chairman of Graze.com and co-founder of Lovefilm, Alex Chesterman, founder of Zoopla, and Alex Saint, CEO of Secret Escapes.

Image: Kath Smith