Indoor cycling brand Wattbike has announced the appointment of Ahmed Khodja as its Direct to Consumer (DTC) Director. This role will lead the implementation of the company's global DTC strategy, leveraging the esteemed brand's heritage in elite sports to drive significant commercial growth.

Khodja, an established e-commerce and digital transformation expert, offers a rich history of experience to the new role, gained over a decade spent with Fanatics, a global sportswear manufacturer and online retailer. His competency within e-commerce is a massive asset for Wattbike, as the brand focuses on this domain for their global DTC growth.

During his ten-year career with Fanatics, Khodja collaborated with world-leading sports teams and athletes, strengthening his proficiencies in e-commerce strategy. His appointment arrives at a crucial time for Wattbike as it eagerly anticipates global expansion and development.

The brand, which has formerly made its name in commercial and corporate markets, now counts DTC sales of its Wattbike Atom smart bike for 70% of UK sales. Debuting earlier this year, the Atom was launched stateside, with the firm steadily enhancing marketing initiatives to boost brand awareness, market share and visibility, as winter training season approaches.

Furthermore, Khodja will also aid in the B2B Commercial growth, given Wattbike's recent distribution launch of the Atom via distributor partners in key Asian markets including China, Singapore, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong.

"I'm delighted to be joining the passionate team at Wattbike, and to be taking on such a pivotal role in the brand's plans for international growth. Wattbike is loved by elite teams and athletes around the world with good reason, their credentials and quality of product setting them well apart from their competitors. I'm very much looking forward to helping shape the brand's digital future, using my extensive experience of e-commerce and connections within the industry," Khodja expresses.

Stephen Loftus, CEO of Wattbike, shared his enthusiasm about Khodja’s appointment, stating: "We're absolutely delighted to welcome Ahmed to the Wattbike team - his depth of experience in e-commerce across international markets and innate understanding of the sports industry means I'm confident that he'll accelerate our global e-commerce strategy, and take the brand to new audiences and markets. He will support us in our quest to become the world’s leading training platform with e-commerce at the forefront of our strategy, opening the Wattbike brand up to newer audiences to continue to improve the health and performance of fitness enthusiasts across the world."