Reebok Brand Chief Executive Resigns

Struggling athletic shoe maker Reebok International Ltd. suffered a new setback with the sudden resignation of the executive brought on board just last year to revive its marquee brand. Carl Yankowski, hired amid great expectations that he could revive Reebok’s flagging sales, resigned as president and chief executive of Reebok Brand to take over a high-technology company. Reebok International Chairman and Chief Executive Paul Fireman will assume the role of president of Reebok Brand, which accounts for about 80% of the company’s sales of footwear and apparel. Fireman praised Yankowski’s role in setting the stage for a rebound at Reebok, which saw its 22% share of the U.S. athletic shoe market in the early 1990s shrivel to 13% last year. Fireman repeated his forecast that the company should see a rebound in sales in the second half of 2000 and that Reebok was comfortable with Wall Street estimates for its fourth-quarter earnings. According to First Call/Thomson Financial, analysts’ consensus estimate for the fourth quarter is a loss of 2 cents per share. Reebok shares fell 31 cents to close at $8.69 on the NYSE.