Johan Ekeroth has come a long way in the sporting goods industry, starting out 23 years ago in a sports shop in Täby, Sweden. In 1996, he joined Nike, gradually moving into several international management positions. After a period of time with Yamaha as the leader of the Nordic regions, he joined New Balance, where he was director of operations in the Nordic countries, and eventually taking on responsibility for the German market as well. In 2009, as chief, he was responsible for the startup of the individually owned Asics Scandinavia subsidiary. In 2010, Johan was involved with establishing Asics in Benelux and as Sales Director eventually became responsible for all sales in Northern Europe.
After 16 years as CEO of Didriksons AB, Sören Andreasson will be entrusting Johan Ekeroth with the full operational responsibility. Sören will remain on the Board of Directors with the minority owners.
“Under the leadership of Sören Andreasson, Didriksons has had a fantastic journey. The company has gone from being a minor player in the Swedish market into an international company established in 20 countries with sales in the vicinity of half a billion SEK. Didriksons has a commendable 100 year history characterizing both its collections and image”, says Johan Ekeroth. “This is a very exciting company that I now have the privilege to lead and I think my knowledge of international business development is in line with Didriksons’ objective for growth in export markets.” “I am very impressed by the different high levels of expertise within Didriksons as well as the high quality. My family has been a faithful user of Didriksons’ apparel and we have never been disappointed.” “There is also a curious link between me and the founding Didriksons family. Hanna Didrikson was my grandmother’s aunt. I’ve had the privilege of spending my childhood summers in her parents’ home in Grötö, a village close to Grundsund where Didriksons was established over 100 years ago. My interest in sailing still takes me around these familiar parts,” quotes Johan Ekeroth.
As of last year, Didriksons AB has been owned by the Norwegian investment company, Herkules IV. Partner and Chairman Sverre Flåskjer, comments on the recruitment of Johan Ekeroth: “As Didriksons AB becomes increasingly internationalized, entering its next phase, we believe that Johan Ekeroth has the right knowledge and experience to lead this rising company. During his time with Asics, turnover has doubled. We also believe that Johan will fit well into the Didriksons corporate culture.”
For more information, please contact:
Sverre Flåskjer, Herkules Capital,
tel. +47 22 04 80 09 / +47 48 11 04 66