MARC HARE ANNOUCED AS THE NEW PRODUCT DIRECTOR FOR LACOSTE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pentland has announced the appointment of Marc Hare as the new product director of the Lacoste Footwear Joint Venture.

Hare joins the business after having run his own successful streetwear inspired sneaker brand, Mr.Hare, since 2008. Hare will be leading the new ‘Mainline’ and ‘Future Concepts’ product teams and working with Lacoste JV CEO, Gianni Georgiades, to support Lacoste’s vision for the future of the brand.

Georgiades, says, “I’m delighted that Marc is joining the team. His appointment reinforces the ambitions we have for Lacoste footwear and I’m looking forward to watching the team push the boundaries into a new domain of innovation and excitement under Marc’s direction.”

On his appointment, Hare says, "Rene Lacoste's life is one of the greatest stories of 20th century sport. Lacoste is one of those brands that everybody fell in love with at a defining moment in their lives. Sneakers are a global language and culture that seemingly cannot be contained. Opportunities like this don’t come around very often, so any attempt at describing the excitement erupting from within me, at joining this team, would be a woeful understatement."

In January 2018, Pentland and The Lacoste Group announced a 50:50 joint venture (JV) based at the Pentland HQ in North London. The JV manages the design, production and manufacturing of Lacoste’s footwear globally. Pentland continues to manage UK distribution, while Lacoste handles distribution in its main territories.

Marc Hare will join the business from 10th September 2018.

Ends/

For more information and/or images, please contact Emma Hill at emma.hill@pentland.com

About Pentland:

Pentland Group plc is a privately owned, global brand management company with wholesale and retail businesses in sports, outdoor and fashion.

It owns Speedo, Berghaus, Canterbury of New Zealand, SeaVees, Endura, Boxfresh, Ellesse, KangaROOS, Mitre and Red or Dead. It’s the global licensee for Ted Baker footwear and Kickers in the UK and has a joint venture partnership for Lacoste footwear.

It’s also shareholders in other companies such as Hunter Boot, Butterfly Twists, Heidi Klein and Tracksmith.

The Group is the majority owner of JD Sports Fashion Limited, which operates over 1,300 sports, fashion and outdoor stores across 12 countries.

Headquartered in the UK, Pentland Group employs more than 20,000 people. Its brands are available across 190 countries.

About LACOSTE:

For LACOSTE, Life is a Beautiful Sport!

Since the very first polo was created in 1933, LACOSTE relies on its authentic sportive roots to spring optimism and elegance on the world thanks to a unique and original lifestyle for women, men and children.

With a vision to be the leading player in the premium casual wear market, the Crocodile brand is today present in 120 countries through a selective distribution network. Two LACOSTE items are sold every second in the world.

As an international group gathering 10,000 women and men, LACOSTE offers a complete range of products: apparel, leather goods, fragrances, footwear, eyewear, home wear, watches and underwear, all of them being elaborated in the most qualitative, responsible and ethical way. In 2016, the brand garnered a turnover of more than 2 billion euros.