Three Executives At China's Lining Resign

A representative from the Chinese sportswear company Lining has confirmed to the local media that the company's three executives, including Chief Operating Officer Guo Jianxin, Chief Marketing Officer Fang Shiwei, and Director for the E-commerce Department Lin Li, have resigned.

The representative revealed that their resignations may be related to the pressure brought by the new business restructuring in the company.

Guo Jianxin, 42, was vice president and chief operating officer of Lining. He joined the company in 1977 and his main responsibilities were managing Lining's brand and its operations. Guo has over eight years' experience in logistics and procurement management.

Fang Shiwei, 48, was vice president, chief marketing officer and general manager for Lining's market system. He was in charge of the brand marketing, communications, public relations, sports marketing, activity marketing, and digital marketing of Lining.

Lin Li, as director of the e-commerce department of Lining, presided over Lining's official Internet store co-constructed with IBM.

In 2010, Lining announced that its sales organization, which previously was controlled by the headquarters of the company, would be divided into three regions, including north region, east region and south region; and the heads of the three regions would independently command the marketing and distribution in their regions. In addition, the company's functional organizational structure would be replaced by businesses divided by categories such as badminton, running, and basketball as well as other department like product development, marketing, sales, and supply.