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A Global Campus: Running an International Brand
February 26, 2009
Jay Duke
Jay Duke (Daytime '01) has been running around the world for about 20 years, in hot pursuit of career opportunities. Just a couple years ago, he caught up to his dream job.
After graduating from Boston College in 1991, Duke spent the majority of the next eight years abroad. Holding various senior marketing positions with Reebok International LTD, Duke lived in the United Kingdom and Japan, and has worked in Russia, Italy, France, Brazil, and China. Despite all the traveling, he always had a specific career goal in mind.
"From very early on I have wanted to own and run my own business, ideally, a great sports brand," Duke said.
His dream came true in 2007. After studying at Fuqua and working at Morgan Stanley & Co., Duke managed the acquisition of a Finnish sports brand, KARHU, along with friend and business partner Huub Valkenburg. Together they established KARHU Holding, B.V.
"Huub and I met in Moscow where we were part of the team that established Reebok's business in Russia in the early 1990s," Duke said. "Huub approached me about buying KARHU."
KARHU, which means "bear" in Finnish was established in 1916, and specializes in running footwear. Duke said the brand is known throughout Europe. Before deciding on the acquisition, Duke researched the business opportunity, the brand, products and their marketability — putting his MBA to use.
"Jay provides a great example of someone who has forged a meaningful career path by leveraging the best of a traditional MBA with a less traditional business field," said Sheryle Dirks, Associate Dean for Career Management. Dirks assisted Duke with his transition from being a student at Fuqua to working at Morgan Stanley & Co. where he was financial advisor to companies including Nike, Timberland and Converse.
"My studies at Fuqua and experience at Morgan tipped the scales to allow me to do this," Duke said. "It took all of my MBA experience to pull together a new product line soon after purchasing the brand."
Duke explained that product line development usually takes 18 months, but he and his team did it in 12, with intense teamwork and execution. As a result, the line was honored with the prestigious Best Debut award from Runners World.
KARHU is headquartered in Beverly, MA, with Duke as president and Board of Directors member. Duke leads global corporate strategy for brand marketing, finance and product creation, and the business execution in North America for KARHU and CRAFT. In addition to KARHU, Duke and Valkenburg own the North American distribution rights for CRAFT, a Swedish performance apparel brand focused on endurance athletes.
Duke is increasing awareness of the brands globally, but particularly in North America, including expansion in the Carolinas. He traveled to North Carolina in February 2009 to market to specialty running stores.
"We are targeting about 100 stores," Duke said. "The challenge is that running is a crowded market, but we are one of the only truly dedicated and authentic running brands in the bunch."
For more information, please visit http://karhu.com.
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