Salomon CEO Franco Fogliato Steps Down Two Months After Parent Company IPO
● James Zheng, the CEO of parent company Amer Sports, will lead Salomon and the outdoor performance segment on an interim basis.
Salomon president and chief executive officer Franco Fogliato stepped down from his role on Friday — after about three years at the helm of the Amer Sports-owned footwear brand.
James Zheng, the CEO of Amer Sports, will lead Salomon and the outdoor performance segment on an interim basis until a successor has been identified.
Fogliato joined Salomon as president and CEO in November 2021, according to his LinkedIn. Before Salomon, he had served as executive vice president of global omnichannel for Columbia Sportswear. During his career, Fogliato also held the roles of European CEO of Billabong, general manager of western Europe for VF Corp. and sales manager for The North Face.
In a statement on Friday, Amer Sports said that it is “grateful” for Fogliato's leadership and dedication throughout his tenure and said he is leaving for personal reasons.
“Mr. Fogliato leaves the business in a healthy position, poised for continued growth,” the company added. “The company remains confident in the brand and its prospects and will continue to invest in its outdoor performance segment to drive long-term profitability.”
This move comes just months after Salomon owner Amer Sports raised $1.37 billion in its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.
In March, the then-public Finnish company reported a 10 percent revenue increase in the fourth quarter to $1.32 billion. Net loss narrowed to $94 million from $148 million the prior year.
For the full year of 2023, Amer Sports' revenue increased 23 percent to $4.37 billion. The company reported a net loss of $209 million, or 54 cents per share, compared to a loss of $253 million, or 66 cents per share, in 2022.
The outdoor performance segment, which includes the Salomon brand, saw revenues grow 18 percent year-over-year in 2023 to $1.67 billion.
For the first quarter, Amer projects revenues to grow between 6 and 8 percent, with an adjusted gross margin of 53.5 percent. Diluted earnings per share is expected to be between a loss of 1 cent per share and earnings of 2 cents per share.
“Driven by our technical performance products, we believe [our] brands resonate strongly with consumers everywhere, but are still relatively small players on the global stage,” Zheng said at the time. “Looking forward, our confidence is enhanced by the fact that our highest margin brand, region, channel, and category are growing fastest.”