NPD Names Kelley President of Sports & Leisure Trends

Consumer specialist The NPD Group has promoted Jim Kelley to the role of President of its newly combined Sports and Leisure Trends business.

Kelley (pictured) joined the group last year as VP Consumer Research, when NPD acquired the retail sales tracking and consumer research business of sports and recreation researcher Leisure Trends, where he had worked since 2009 as VP and Chief Operating Officer. Earlier, he was Director of Marketing at Market Force Information, and Director of Customer Marketing at Levi Strauss & Co, where he spent more than eleven years in a variety of leadership roles across research and marketing.

The combined NPD and Leisure Trends businesses now provide a comprehensive view of the sports, outdoor and recreation marketplace, tracking retail sales and consumer trends across apparel, footwear, and equipment for running, outdoor, fitness, cycling and snow sports categories. Kelley's team includes Joe Hachemeister, Executive Director, Client Development; Julia Clark Day, Executive Director, Business Development; and Jason Gee, Director, Operations.

NPD's President, Americas Commercial Business Dennis Brown comments: 'The NPD Group is creating a new entity that's greater than the sum of its parts, with the largest POS footprint in the industry - over 26,000 stores - and the capacity to provide new solutions for the sports industry. Jim Kelley brings a wealth of analytical, strategic and marketplace knowledge, which will be invaluable as we build upon the combined strengths of both companies.'

Web site: www.npd.com .