Updated 3:07 p.m. with more information from Reef President Jim Gerson about plans for apparel.
Greg Osthus is the new director of men’s apparel for Reef.
Previously, Greg was the general manager of young brand, Atwater.
Greg is an industry veteran who joined Atwater in 2008. Before that, he served as vice president of sales and merchandising for Lost Clothing.
Reef President Jim Gerson told me via email this noon about why Reef hired Greg and about another new hire in the apparel division.
“We are very excited to have Greg join our team and head up the Reef apparel division. Greg has a wealth of knowledge in the action sports arena and his combination of sales and merchandising experience will provide a great path for success.
“We are also happy to announce that we have added designer Eric Gigler to our team,” Jim said. “Gigs brings a strong background from action sports and outdoor to our portfolio. We continue to invest in apparel growth and these two key additions set us up for the future.”
In early 2009, Reef downsized its apparel offering and restructured its design department. It exited most women’s apparel categories except T’s, and opted to licenses its swimwear line.
In guys, it narrowed its offering to mostly T-shirts, boardshorts, fleece and hats and stopped making denim and wovens.
With new hires, Jim said Reef will “continue to focus and expand on our core competences of boardshorts, T-shirts, walkshorts, and fleece. As we grow these key categories, we will look to go back into cut and sew garments.”
Atwater restructures sales management
I contacted Atwater Collection President Dean Bradley to see how losing Greg will impact the business.
Here’s what Dean said:
“It was a true pleasure working with Greg. He opened up some great doors for Atwater and helped us build a solid foundation from the core up to majors.
“We wish him great success in his future with Reef.
“Internally, we have re-structured our sales management and look forward to continued growth of our business. We are hyped to show retailers our Spring 2011 line at ASR and Class!”
