The US shoe and clothing group Wolverine World Wide Inc. has introduced the new boss of its ailing women’s sportswear brand Sweaty Betty. On Monday evening, the group announced that Melissa Mullen had been named the label’s Global Brand President. She succeeded Julia Strauss, whose departure had been announced a few weeks ago.
It is now up to Mullen to get the brand back on the road to success. In the summer of 2021, Wolverine took over Sweaty Betty World Wide for more than $400 million, but the label has so far not been able to meet expectations and was recently in the red. At the end of March, the group then announced a comprehensive reform program for the brand, which includes cost-cutting measures and a new management structure.
In the future, Mullen will report directly to Isabel Soriano, who is President of the London-based International Group segment. The integration into this division should ensure cost reductions at Sweaty Betty and enable stronger synergy effects with other brands belonging to the group of companies.
Mullen comes from cosmetics supplier Jo Malone London, where she most recently served as vice president and general manager of the UK and Ireland business. Before that, she worked for the sporting goods company Nike Inc. for more than eight years, where she held various management positions in the areas of e-commerce and merchandising.