Umbro loses chief exec to Americana

Umbro chief executive Peter McGuigan is leaving the sports brand to join Americana, the owner of fashion brands Bench and Hooch. Steve Makin, Umbro financial director, will take over his responsibilities.

McGuigan was appointed to chief executive in 1999, after Umbro bought PMG International, a brand licensing and development business, which he set up in 1997.

Prior to that, McGuigan was chief operating officer of Pentland Group where he was responsible for developing brands including Ellesse, Speedo and Lacoste, and has also worked for Reebok as both its UK managing director and president of its non-US international business.

Makin joined Umbro as chief financial officer in July last year after working for Asda and Wal-Mart since 1991.

Umbro, best known for its “Three Lions” England team football shirt, says it is targeting growth in new markets in a bid to overcome “challenging” trading conditions in the UK.

McGuigan announced in March that the company would focus on growing its business in Russia, the Middle East, Africa and India while China and the US were already important and growing markets for the company.

He also warned that next year’s profits may be hit if the national side failed to reach the finals of next year’s European Championships.