Accapi group, the exclusive European distribution partner for outdoor dog brand Ruffwear, has expanded its pack, with a series of key appointments to further support the significant growth of the brand throughout the UK, DACH, Nordics and French regions.
Based in Co Durham, North East England, Accapi Group increased Ruffwear sales by +64% sales in 2021, despite challenging times for the pet retail trade, making it one of the leading pet brand distributors in the industry. The group has plans to grow the US based brand further throughout Europe into 2022 and beyond.
David Drachmann-Sunne joins Accapi Group as European Sales Director. Responsible for new business, David has experience of growing brands in Europe in both the pet and outdoor leisure sectors, most recently with Orbiloc and Siccaro in the Nordic and DACH markets.
Natalie Sullivan joins the Ruffwear pack as Director of Marketing for Accapi Group, responsible for driving demand and supporting retail sell through for the Ruffwear brand throughout Europe. She joins Accapi from Pentland brands where she worked directly with retail partners in the outdoor and sports channel to grow and support the sell-out of outdoor/active brands Berghaus, Endura and Speedo.
Supporting the marketing department is the appointment of digital marketing graduate Laura Geere who joins Accapi as Digital Marketing Executive, working on the activation of Ruffwear across its online touchpoints with the consumer.
Two new account managers have also joined the sales and marketing team. Charlie Duhoux has sales and marketing experience in the UK and France, and she will be supporting and growing Ruffwear’s French speaking retailers. Tom Carter joins the UK sales team to further grow the UK business, having previously worked with outdoor brands Lifemarque and Craghoppers.
The customer operations and supply and logistics function has also been strengthened with the appointment of Megan Gowland as Deputy Customer Service Manager and Dan Jackman joins Accapi as Planning and Development Manager responsible for the end-to-end supply chain and product availability from Ruffwear production to delivery to retail partners and consumers across Europe.
Ruffwear was founded in Oregon in 1992 by inventor, adventurist and product developer, Patrick Kruse. The brand exists to inspire dog and human connections outdoors and envisions a world where every dog is an explorer.
Rob Hughes, Managing Director of Accapi Group explains: “Ruffwear has experienced phenomenal demand and over 64% growth in 2021. Accapi’s work together with Ruffwear has resulted in seeing the brand on more dogs as more owners experience the quality, design and innovation of the brand and are inspired to enjoy outdoor adventures with their dogs.
This growth and the further strengthening of our core team in Europe is a key step in more Ruffwear consumers becoming fans of the brand for life and our excellent levels of service, trail tested product warranty and inspiring stories of dogs and their humans living their best lives outdoors is key to that success.”
Ruffwear is available through premium pet, specialists and outdoor retailers as well as direct to consumer for information on the brand and stockists visit www.ruffwear.co.uk
