Update: Jan. 18, 2023
One week after Snipes SE founder Sven Voth stepped down from his role as CEO, the chief merchandising officer of the retailer’s U.S. business has retired.
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Snipes USA confirmed in a statement on Thursday that chief merchandising officer Brian Forde, a 40-year sneaker industry veteran, has retired. In 2017, Forde joined KicksUSA, which was acquired by Snipes in 2019 as the German retailer looked to make inroads in the U.S. market. During Forde’s tenure with Snipes USA credited Forde via statement for playing a pivotal role in building the brand stateside, which has grown from 64 to more than 350 stores.
Succeeding Forde is 30-year sneaker industry veteran Dimitrios “Jimmy” Lessen, who will assume the chief marketing officer role as of Feb. 13. Prior to joining Snipes USA, Lessen most recently served as the VP and general merchandising manager of Foot Locker North America. Lessen also held the general merchandising manager role at Foot Locker Europe for seven years.
Lessen will report to Snipes USA president Jim Bojko. The retailer confirmed Forde will support the transition in an advisory function until he steps down in June.
“For 40 years, Brian has been at the heart of sneaker culture. I’m thankful for his deep experience and charismatic leadership in helping fine-tune our go-to-market approach to the US sneaker and streetwear consumer,” Bojko said in a statement. “At the same time, I’m excited to welcome Jimmy to the Snipes team. He is highly trusted with our vendor partners and brings deep product passion and knowledge. Jimmy will ensure we stay at the cutting edge of sneaker and streetwear fashion.”
What We Reported on Jan. 12, 2023
Snipes SE founder Sven Voth is stepping down from his role as CEO, effective on Friday.
Moving ahead, Voth will remain with the German footwear retailer as founder and will primarily focus on expansion, wholesale, product trends and innovation, collaborations, and the U.S. business in a two-year transition before moving into a consultancy role on Jan. 1, 2026.
And as Voth prepares for his next face, Dennis Schröder, who has been the general manager of the company since April, will take over responsibility for the sneaker and streetwear retailer as CEO.
In a statement on Friday, Voth called Snipes his life’s work. “Snipes will always be a part of me,” Voth said. “I realize that it is time to hand over the baton and Dennis Schröder already enjoys the recognition of all colleagues in the company after a very short time. He brings experience from the retail business and a lot of brand knowledge and is already noticeably enriching the company with his expertise and ideas in a very short space of time.”