Reebok Assigns Barclay to Liaison Post

Reebok International said Friday that James Barclay will relinquish his job as president of the Reebok Footwear division to take on “critical areas of business development” in his continuing role as executive vice president of the parent corporation.

Barclay, 46, who helped found the U.S. version of Reebok in 1979 with Chairman Paul Fireman, 43, has not been demoted, spokesman John Gillis said.

Rather, it was Barclay’s idea to leave the division and focus on problems with the sourcing of Reebok products, particularly in South Korea, and to be a liaison with Reebok accounts, Gillis said. “All it is is a shifting of emphasis, a shifting of roles,” he said.

“Essentially, we are going to try to strengthen our relationships with our retailers so that everything from service to billing is handled as efficiently as possible,” Barclay said. “I want to be personally involved in that process, something which my dual role has prevented me from doing.”

Fireman will become president of Reebok Footwear, one of six company divisions, until a new president is found.

Reebok, which has been growing rapidly, partly through acquisitions, has let its attention wander from its big moneymaker, the domestic footwear division that Barclay headed, said John Horan, publisher of Sports Ink newsletter.

“I think they’re trying to refocus Fireman’s attention on that and focus Barclay’s attention on the things he’s good at,” Horan said. “There’s nothing they’re going to buy that’s going to make as much money as Reebok domestic footwear.”

Barclay must deal with Reebok’s difficulties in getting footwear out of strike-plagued South Korea, where more than 70% of the company’s products are made, Horan said. In addition, recent price increases were handled “a little clumsily and I think they need to get in touch with their dealers a little more.”