Hillsound Equipment, a provider of footwear traction and gaiters, announced the addition of the Orno Group LLC to its sale force. Partners Greg Danziger and Luisa Harkins will be representing the brand in the Rocky Mountain region covering Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico. With offices in Boulder and Steamboat Springs, Colo., Danziger and Harkins also represent Royal Robbins, Carve Designs, Revo and Ambler.
RIDE Snowboards has added Topher Laws to its team as a new sales representative. Laws brings more than 12 years of experience in the skate, snow and surf industries to RIDE and will manage sales in the Northwest region covering Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho and Alaska. He will be based in Bend, Ore.
Craft Sportswear North America announced the hiring of Ming Tan as its sales rep for Northern California. Tan will represent all Craft categories, including Cycling, Run, Nordic and Custom. Tan has nearly 20 years of experience in the outdoor sports industry, having served as vice president and general manager for companies such as Ritchey Design and Upland Sports Group. Tan also established LOOK Cycle USA, a stand-alone subsidiary to LOOK International, and managed that startup until 2010.
Tokul Creek Marketing has been retained by Outdoor Research to cover the Pacific Northwest region for the brand. Tokul Creek, based in Seattle along with Outdoor Research, will oversee consumer sales in the states of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and Montana. Tokul Creek Marketing was founded by agency principal Paul Dukich in 1997. Team members based in Seattle include Dukich, Brandon Gough, business analyst and key account sales representative in Washington; Ryan O’Connell, sales representative for Alaska and Oregon; and office manager Mike Walker. Erin Warren, based in Missoula, covers Montana and Idaho. Tokul Creek Marketing can be reached at (206) 420-4903 or via Dukich at pauldukich@tokulcreekmarketing.com.
Chaco expands its sales team with the addition of Brandywine River Reps in the Mid-Atlantic region. Covering New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Northern Virginia and the D.C. area, Brandywine is comprised of industry veterans Andy Molter, Justin Lannan, Jamie Baker and Jillian Sullivan. In addition to Chaco, Brandywine also represents other leading outdoor brands including Icebreaker, Eagle Creek and ExOfficio.
Farm to Feet selected Mel Chrestman, Jr. and Kev Martin to service and expand its presence in the Southeast territory. Chrestman and Martin will be responsible for servicing West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Along with Farm to Feet, Chrestman and Martin also represent Patagonia Footwear, SOLE footbeds, United By Blue, Klean Kanteen and Loaded Skateboards. Retailers interested in seeing the Fall 2014 or Spring 2015 Farm to Feet collections can contact Crestman by phone (703) 750-2561 or via email at melx2@ymail.com. Martin can be reached by phone at (828) 349-9091 or via email at adrenalinesports@msn.com.
Topo Athletic announced the addition of five sales agencies to rep the brand. Chilton Military Marketing Co., based in Carlsbad, Calif., specializes and sells exclusively to the Military Exchanges and represents a limited number of companies within specific categories. Clear Creek Reps, covering Wyoming, Utah, Colorado New Mexico, is led by partners Smoky Anderson and Owen Dennehy and associate rep Chappy Stewart, who have more than 50 years combined experience in the outdoor industry. The agency, based in Georgetown, Colo., currently represents Berghaus USA, Eagle Creek, Point 6, Selk Bag, Avex, United by Blue and Katadyn North America. Orban Athletic Sales, servicing Topp Athletic dealers in Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and Western Ohio is led by Mike Orban, an avid runner who managed and owned two different running specialty stores in the Indianapolis area from 1996 to 2008. He has worked in the running business for more than 25 years and has represented brands such as Hoka, Nathan, Saucony and Feetures socks. The Pacific Sierra Group, representing California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii, is an independent sales rep team with more than 50 years of combined experience representing brands such as Eagle Creek, Mountain Hardwear, Montrail and others. And finally, Sig Lee now covers Florida for Topo. He spent almost 25 years leading sales teams at Nike, where he was a national sales director.
Climbing gear distributor Liberty Mountain has added Ascension Sales Group to its outside rep roster. Starting immediately, Ascension Sales Group will cover the Rockies and Great Plains territory, including Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming for Beal and Edelweiss. Ascension consists of Brad Barlage, Eric Johnson, Brian Stevenson, Caleb Wray, Holly Yearly and Mason Daly. Together they have more than 50 years of collective experience in the outdoor industry. In addition to Beal and Edelweiss, Ascension Sales Group represents Black Diamond, Diamir, Pieps and Vasque.
Tecnica Blizzard announced that Dana Greenwood will be representing Tecnica and Blizzard alpine products in California and Nevada. Greenwood returns to the Tecnica Blizzard family, having held several positions in the past. He takes the place of Clem Smith, who held the position as sales representative for Tecnica Blizzard in California and Nevada for the past four years and held various promotional positions within the company for a total of 10 years of dedicated service. Smith has accepted a position as the principal representative for K2 Sports in Colorado.
Tecnica Blizzard also announced Charlie Hepburn as its new sales associate for Tecnica and Blizzard alpine products in California and Nevada. Hepburn will work directly with Greenwood. In addition to Hepburn’s responsibilities assisting Greenwood with dealer support, he will manage Tecnica Blizzard’s pro network and ambassador programs, focusing on building brand awareness and demand.
Confluence Outdoor recently hired sales representatives Andrew Miller and John Jameson in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast and the Gulf Coast regions, respectively, and promoted longtime sales representative Matt Yablonowski to key account representative in the Central U.S. region. Yablonowski brings more than 14 years of sales, marketing and outdoor industry experience to his new post where he is responsible for managing Academy, The Sports Authority, Mills Fleet Farm and Gander Mountain. In his previous post as a sales representative for Confluence since 2011, he worked for independent specialty accounts in the northeast. Jameson, who is based in Texas, is responsible for working with independent specialty accounts in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee. He previously owned an independent sales agency specializing in the bicycle, golf, tennis and swim industries and worked as a sales manager for Gamma Sports, Dunlop and Reebok. Miller joins Confluence as accessories sales rep, focusing solely on growing sales of Adventure Technology, Bomber Gear and Harmony brands at independent specialty retailers in Missouri, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut. He previously worked as a sales rep at Backcountry Outfitters and in Web development positions at Immersion Research and ProWeb Marketing.
Werner Paddles has enlisted the services of Joseph Vidarte to represent the company in the Northeast U.S. territory. Vidarte brings a strong paddle sports and retail sales background to the company, says Doug Ragan, Werner director of sales, and will be “hitting the ground running in October,” after training sessions in Sultan and Monroe, Wash., as well as in his home town of Saratoga, NY.
Sunglasses and snow goggles brand Dragon Alliance hired Noi Kaulukukui as a sales representative covering Northern California. Born on Kauai and raised in Santa Cruz, Calif., Kaulukukui enjoyed a successful career as a NorCal pro surfer and shaper. He honed his retail skills working at O’Neill’s flagship surf shop, where eventually he came to be manager.
