New Executive Chairman and Former PUMA SVP will help YORK with omnichannel evolution

BOSTON, MA, USA, May 5, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- YORK Athletics Mfg., a third-generation independently-owned D2C footwear brand, announced today that it has named Travis York, Executive Chairman, and has added Curtis Charles, CEO of FFB Collaboration and previously Senior Vice President North America at PUMA, to its board of directors.

Executive Chairman
Travis York co-founded YORK Athletics in 2016 and since then has played a strategic role in growing the company. As executive chairman, York, who is also CEO of York Creative Collective, will be more involved in the day-to-day operations with a focus on brand and performance marketing working closely alongside CEO and Co-Founder Mark McGarry to scale the business.

“We have successfully completed the first chapter of YORK Athletics’ story, which was building an end-to-end D2C footwear brand on our terms,” York said. “As we enter the next chapter, our attention is turning to scale and focusing on more ways to bring our shoes to the public. That includes a greater focus on omnichannel evolution through marketplaces as well as wholesale, which is why I am so thrilled with the team we’re putting together to chase down these new goals. Their work will complement nicely what our team has been doing since day one: building an unbelievable product and a brand people want to be part of.”

Curtis Charles
Joining York on the YORK Athletics Board is Curtis Charles, Managing Partner and CEO of FFB Collaboration. FFB Collaboration is a full service, cultural strategy agency that helps companies drive wholesale sales to a variety of strategic retail partners as well as understand the youth and minority consumer. Prior to running FFB Collaboration, Charles spent 11 years at PUMA Group, most recently as Senior Vice President North America and Head of the Wholesale Division. He will be bringing that experience in Wholesale to the company.

“There are many D2C footwear brands but YORK stood out to me because of the quality, the rich history of the family and the clear point of difference that York has by focusing on one of the major problems in footwear today, which is fit,” said Charles. “As they enter this next chapter, I am looking forward to helping them pick the right partners and drive those strategic relationships.”

These key board additions are just the latest in a series of momentum for YORK Athletics, which saw a strong Q4. In addition to 49% YoY Gross Revenue growth in Q4, the company also launched the York Fit Finder, a three-dimensional foot measurement tool designed to find a user’s shoe size by using the camera on their phone or tablet. Unlike other footwear fitting technologies, the YORK Fit Finder simulates your foot entry and position inside the shoe.

"The Fit Finder launch solidified YORK Athletics reputation as a footwear brand obsessed with fit, which is why we've become the footwear brand for trainers," said Mark McGarry, CEO, YORK Athletics. "It also showcases that as much as YORK Athletics is a footwear brand, it is also a technology company. This is a differentiator that has helped us attract star talent like Curtis, Greg and Greg and will play a huge role in our next chapter as a company."

For more information, visit https://yorkathleticsmfg.com.

Adam Coughlin
York IE
adam@york.ie