Stefan Herzog Becomes New President and Spokesman of FEDAS

With Werner Haizmann's decision not to stand for the new term of office as President of the European Federation of Sports Retailers FEDAS, an era comes to an end. For 24 years, he represented the interests of the European sporting goods, sports textiles and sports footwear trade. He is handing over his office to Stefan Herzog (59), who at the same time works for the German Association of Sports Goods Retailers, VDS, as Secretary General. He will also take on the function of spokesman for FEDAS. The general assembly convened by video conference unanimously elected Herzog as the new president. In recognition of his achievements, Werner Haizmann was appointed Honorary President of FEDAS.

Stefan Herzog has managed three major companies in the German sports business: SportScheck, Karstadt Sports and Sport Voswinkel. Herzog has been Secretary General of the VDS since 2019 and has made the accelerated transformation of the sports trade one of his tasks. Together with his important partners FESI and ISPO, he wants to continue to bundle the industry's strengths with FEDAS in the future and jointly develop key market areas. Current focus topics are the Corona crisis, the digital transformation of the market, sustainability and environmental protection - also in the course of the Digital Initiative and the EU Green Days. Herzog will speak about the effects of the corona crisis at the ISPO Re.Start Days on 30 June 2020.

Commenting on his appointment, Herzog said: "I am very pleased to be appointed President of FEDAS and would also like to thank my predecessor Werner Haizmann, who has done an excellent job for many years. It is my goal and that of my European colleagues to continue the path already taken in the best possible way and to further expand and strengthen the classic role of FEDAS as a part of the European specialist trade family which is systemically relevant for popular sport and sporting health in Europe. We have already done this in recent years in close cooperation with the European sporting goods association FESI and we will continue to do so successfully in the future, building on our experience in the difficult Corona times. Furthermore, we will continue to work on bringing our respective national projects together on a European basis".

The other board members were confirmed in office: Besides the new president, the current board consists of the managing president Michael Nendwich from Austrian Association of Sports Goods Manufacturers and Sports Equipment Suppliers (VSSÖ), the Vice President Peter Bruggmann of the Swiss Association of Sports Retailers (ASMAS) and Dave Quadvlieg of the Dutch retail association INretail. "I am looking forward to working closely with our new president and am convinced that FEDAS has found an ideal president in Stefan Herzog, who will fill his office perfectly thanks to his many years of experience in the industry," said Michael Nendwich.