A CCO who once made custom jeans, now in charge of Puma’s global operations
Arens ran a company that let people customize their jeans before joining Puma.
The story
Puma has named Arne Arens as chief commercial officer, and Calvin Klein has appointed Ayub Mohamed as chief product officer, as part of broader leadership changes in the fashion industry.
Source: wwd.com
Our reading
Arne Arens, the new CCO at Puma, used to run a company called Unspun, which the source says let people customize their jeans. That’s not a startup, it’s a company that sold pants. Now he’s in charge of making sure Puma’s global commercial operations don’t fall apart, which is a bit like putting a guy who once made custom jeans in charge of making sure the rest of the brand doesn’t get too tight. The real joke is that Puma’s CEO said Arens has a ‘unique skillset’ that combines ‘commercial expertise, consumer insights and brand leadership.’ It’s a list of buzzwords that could describe anyone who’s ever sat through a corporate training seminar. The real kicker is that Arens has a resume that reads like a list of companies that once had a shot at being the next big thing, and now he’s trying to make Puma one of the top three. It’s like hiring a guy who once tried to sell socks to astronauts, and now he’s in charge of making sure the socks actually fit.
