Kathmandu CEO Xavier Simonet resigns from Australian Public Service position

Kathmandu CEO Xavier Simonet has resigned after five and a half years with the company.

Simonet, who intends to work with a six-month notice period, is leaving to take up a high-level position in the Australian Public Service.

“We are disappointed to lose Xavier,” said Kathmandu President David Kirk. “We wish him the best in the important work he will undertake.”

Simonet led Kathmandu Holdings through a period of growth and repositioning of the company, Kirk added.

Simonet said in a statement that he had had an “amazing time” in Kathmandu, a company that he says has “great brands, passionate teams and strong values.”

Outdoor clothing and equipment retailer Kathmandu reported its first-quarter result last week, indicating that it was beginning to see significant gains with the purchase of surf brand Rip Curl, an acquisition led by Simonet.

Kathmandu Group sales for the first quarter ending October 31 increased by 72 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.

Earnings for the period were boosted by the “transformational takeover” of Rip Curl.

While Kathmandu continued to be affected by Covid-19, online group sales increased 37 percent over an extended 16-week period through November 15, while wholesale sales for the first-quarter period ending November 15. October 31 fell 14.4 percent at the same time last year.

The company saw its profits fall 85 percent in fiscal 2020, reflecting acquisition costs, restructuring and the loss of $ 135 million in sales as a result of Covid-19 and closures in New Zealand and Australia.