Mizuno USA strengthens running division

By

Sarah Ahssen

Published
Jan 6, 2015

Japanese equipment and sportswear company Mizuno is aiming to expand in the US market and has just appointed Mark Sheehan vice president for running products to do so.

He will now be in charge of Mizuno’s American running division, responsible for research and development, as well as products.

Sheehan, who began his career in 1986 co-managing a running store, subsequently moved over to Nike to work on footwear development. 

He then joined Puma as director of development for basketball, training and tennis, with subsequent stints in progressively higher positions at Reebok and K-Swiss. More recently, he headed his own company, Material Concept Group. 

For the first six months of its 2014 fiscal year ending on September 30, Mizuno recorded sales down 4% at 119 million dollars in the US. And while in the region running represents half of sales, the segment is experiencing stagnation.

1 USD = 0.68 GBP