Brooke Farris has been appointed as a new chief executive of Rip Curl. Photo / Supplied
Brooke Farris has been appointed as a new chief executive of Rip Curl. Photo / Supplied
Surfing sportswear retailer Rip Curl has appointed Brooke Farris as its new chief executive, replacing Michael Daly who has been promoted to group CEO of parent company Kathmandu.
Farris will start her position on Monday, and will report to Daly.
"Rip Curl has been threaded throughout my life since I was a teen," she said.
"It's an absolute privilege to lead our talented and passionate crew across the world and I'm motivated to build on our esteemed 52-year history and capitalise on our continued market success."
Kathmandu last month said it expected total sales to be below original expectations at approximately $930 million when it releases its full-year 2021 results, as Covid-19 restrictions continue to disrupt trading across multiple Australian states.
Rip Curl, which was acquired by Kathmandu in 2019, continued to trade strongly in North America and Europe, the NZX statement said in June.
Despite Covid-19-related disruptions, direct-to-consumer sales remain well above pre-Covid levels and wholesale orders received for FY22 continue to show double-digit growth over FY19.
Kathmandu shares last traded at $1.38 on the NZX and have gained 24 per cent over the past 52 weeks.
Daly said Farris has contributed greatly to Rip Curl's success and growth over the past 11 years with her indisputable commitment to the brand.
Farris has been with Rip Curl since 2010 and had a variety of roles and responsibilities including running Rip Curl surf events globally, executing marketing strategy across retail, wholesale, social media team, and events as the ANZ Marketing Manager, as the GM of Digital and part of Rip Curl's global executive team, he said.
