Meet Remi Riberolles, IT Omnichannel Director at Amer Sports. Read on to learn about the rapid growth of our IT Omnichannel team, how establishing an environment of trust leads to innovation, and what opportunities the digital world will continue to bring.
Remi Riberolles’ journey at Amer Sports began in 2013. After completing his university studies, he joined an IT consultancy working for Amer Sports. He was soon offered a position as the lead of the IT e-commerce team. Today, Remi is IT Omnichannel Director at Amer Sports, leading a team of 80+ people who manage our digital sales solutions covering e-commerce, retail, and wholesale.
“It’s been nearly 10 years since I joined Amer Sports, and the journey has been incredible. Steering our IT e-commerce domain through a boom in online sales and evolving consumer behaviors has been a huge opportunity. And to do so together with a committed team full of talent, has been a key success factor,” says Remi.
E-commerce boom leads to rapid growth
Our IT Omnichannel team has grown fast over the past decade. With his team, Remi has played a pivotal role in shaping the growth of our e-commerce function.
“When I started, we were a small team of three. However, our brands’ requirements and willingness to grow the e-commerce channel inspired us to adapt quickly. At the time, our team was mostly outsourced, but we decided to bring more knowledge and expertise in house. So, we moved from 3 to 25 employees in 4 years.”
Collectively, the team and brand representatives identified the need to renew the e-commerce platform to support future growth. This led to the rebuilding of a completely new digital platform fully integrated with the rest of the IT systems.
“Building a new digital platform was a huge initiative involving IT and each brand, and a perfect opportunity to start with a blank page. We rebuilt everything from scratch for nearly all our brands, in close collaboration.”
Four months after the project kickoff, COVID-19 pandemic hit, but Remi impressively led the team in enabling our brands to grow their direct-to-consumer business.
“COVID-19 was for sure a turning point. We had to stop almost everything for a few months. But with strong support from Amer Sports and our brands, we soon accelerated ahead with the project and nearly tripled our team size in a few months. It was for sure a challenge!”
Key enabler for innovation: an environment of trust
How did the team manage to successfully achieve such rapid growth?
“The key is to ensure the team feels supported,” explains Remi. “It’s about creating an environment of trust and autonomy where teams feel empowered to make their own decisions.”
Building a new digital platform and onboarding 40 new people during a pandemic was not an easy task.
“I wanted to ensure everyone felt at home and part of the Amer Sports community. At the same time, it was tricky to make sure everyone had the necessary knowledge to perform their tasks and use their expertise as fast as possible after joining.”
As a leader, Remi succeeded in ensuring everyone in the function understood the vision and the path they were on together. He worked on creating a safe and empowering environment that allowed for greater efficiency and the possibility to react and adapt quickly.
“Being a good leader is not about sitting in a meeting room when there is an issue and coming up with a solution. It’s about asking the right questions so your team can come up with the right solution. After all, they are the true experts,” says Remi.
Accelerating the transformation of the digital world
From past growth to future growth, Remi expresses his excitement about the business opportunities ahead.
“The digital world keeps transforming at a rapid pace. Consumer behaviors are constantly changing, and we need to support our brands in their direct-to-consumer acceleration while continuing to reinforce our wholesale business. Consumers expect a lot from us. As they are free to make their own choices, they also look for advice and guidance.”
Remi explains how the team needs to reflect and think about how—through our digital platform—we can provide further personalization for customers to easily find and pick the right product for their needs at a given moment.
“Building systems is complex and takes time. We need to continue to adapt, accelerate, innovate, and anticipate. And by doing so, we help our brands make a difference.”
Remi Riberolles
Current role: IT Omnichannel Director
Location: Annecy, France
Previous experience: “I started my career as a consultant and project manager for an IT services company. I then joined Amer Sports as the IT e-com team lead at only 25 years old. Earlier this year, after leading the growth of the e-com team and thanks to the trust of our leadership, I became IT Omnichannel Director, overseeing e-commerce, retail, and wholesale teams.”
Hobbies and interests: “I’m a sports enthusiast. My family being from the French Basque Country, my first love was surfing. Moving to the heart of the Alps pushed me toward snowboarding and splitboarding. I recently re-started playing tennis after a 10-year break. Otherwise, I enjoy spending time outdoors and dig music.”
Fun fact: “I landed in Annecy after university. I fell in love with the city and the region, and never left. It will be 16 years in 2023.”
