The Maier Sports and Gonso brands will be run from the start of next year by a new managing director: Sascha Kautschitsch, an executive from the fashion business, will take over the helm of Maier Sports, the German snow, outdoor and bicycle apparel company that owns both brands. Kautschitsch is the founder of Dirty Jerz, a European fashion distribution firm based in Munich and Hong Kong, which he has headed for the last seven years. At Maier Sports the 37-year-old will replace Gerhard Maier. The appointment comes shortly after the takeover of the majority of Maier Sports by Findos Investor from the Maier family in August. Findos is an equity firm specializing in acquiring German family-owned companies that need to solve succession problems. Two years ago, Maier Sports had to file for bankruptcy after it was hurt by the integration of US40, a sportswear brand that it had acquired. Partly thanks to the support of family members, Gerhard Maier managed to steer the group out of dire straits and to position it again as a highly popular vendor among retailers in the German-speaking countries. Ironically, Kautschitsch served as managing director of US40 from 1997 through 2000 before the brand, which caused so many problems later on, was taken over by Maier Sports.

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