Sabre partners with European execs

Brooke McGregor, a partner in Sabre, told me yesterday that former JSI CEO Frank Van Der Klaauw and former Oakley Europe sales manager Marcel Schutte will run Sabre's European operations. JSI used to hold the O'Neill license for Europe.

Van Der Klaauw and Schutte have formed a company called REDNINE3, which is headquartered in Amsterdam.

Currently, Sabre is sold in approximately 27 countries around the world.

I asked Brooke a few questions about the new European deal.

Is this your first licensing arrangement?

Yes, this is our first licensing deal.

How does this change how you currently do business in Europe?

We were handling each country separately from the head office (in Newport Beach), and we thought it was best to get somebody that really understands the market to handle it.

Did you have distributors before?

Yes, we had Scandinavia and Spain.

(right, a recent meeting of Sabre distributors in Europe)

Will you use the same distributors but now Frank will handle the operations and manage the overall brand there?

Yes, that is correct. Frank will handle this for us now. ... With Frank's prior experience as CEO of both Heineken and O'Neill in Europe, he really understands how to grow the Sabre business in what can be complicated European markets. Frank's experience with business strategies and brand growth is also valuable.

How did you get hooked up with him?

Both myself and my business partner meet Frank through working at O'Neill and kept in contact.