Pat Loomis, who has built up several European brands in the U.S. market, announced that he was retiring earlier this month. He was president of Bergans USA, the North American subsidiary of the Norwegian outdoor brand. Loomis will be replaced in this job by Keith Patterson, who was previously vice president of sales and marketing at Bergans USA. Loomis and Patterson together opened Bergans USA in Longmont, Colorado, four years ago. They achieved sales growth at an average growth rate of more than 40 percent per year. Loomis has been in the industry since 1978, starting with the launch of Lowe Alpine Systems International in Ireland. He later moved to the U.S. to lead Lowe USA and in 2001 he got to know Patterson as the two together launched Deuter USA. Loomis left Deuter in 2008 while Patterson moved sideways in 2009 to Salewa North America. They were reunited when Loomis agreed to set up Bergans North America, after several years as a consultant. The switch at Bergans USA comes almost at the same time as the retirement of Ragnar Jensen, who has led the entire Bergans group for more than two decades. As already announced back in June, the leadership was taken over in December by Leif Holst-Liæker, the former chief executive of Viking Fottøy and Bertel O. Steen Holding.

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