Trust, Speed, and Cultural Understanding: How to build a strategic partnership with a leading company in the sportswear sector.

The Client

Champion Europe by Orbico SportStyle is a benchmark player in the sportswear sector at the European level. With headquarters in Carpi, the company manages all operations for the Champion brand for the entire European continent.

The company structure is divided into three main business units: wholesale (managing the multi-brand client network across Europe), retail (around fifty proprietary stores with an expansion plan in key European cities like Manchester and Paris), and e-commerce. With commercial offices in Paris, UK, Sweden, Germany, Greece, and Spain, and ownership of the Game 7 Athletics brand (multi-brand sports stores in Italy), Champion Europe by Orbico SportStyle represents a structured and constantly evolving organization.

Anna Pieroni, HR Manager Talent Acquisition and Employer Branding, coordinates recruiting activities with her team in this transformation phase: "We are in a phase of positive reorganization. The goal is to enrich the teams with new skills and different perspectives, to innovate processes and bring added value to the organization. In a young and close-knit team like ours, we often find ourselves working on transversal projects ranging from performance management to onboarding, from potential assessment to employer branding."

1. Recruiting challenges: quality and tight deadlines

Recruiting for Champion Europe by Orbico SportStyle presents specific complexities related to the corporate transformation phase and sector characteristics. A partner is needed who can manage particular dynamics while maintaining high quality selection standards even with tight deadlines.

1.1 Search for excellent profiles

The first challenge concerns managing very high expectations from internal stakeholders. As Anna Pieroni explains: "We work with managers who have very high expectations and seek excellent profiles. This requires a recruiting partner who can manage complex dynamics and support us in the decision-making process, also guiding internal stakeholders toward conscious choices that take real market dynamics into account."

What is needed, therefore, is mediation skills and strategic consultancy: calibrating expectations against what the market can offer, without compromising quality.

1.2 Operational speed without sacrificing quality

In a dynamic sector like sportswear, combined with the company’s transformation phase, response times are crucial. Anna Pieroni is clear on this: "We operate in a dynamic context that requires speed of execution. I prefer working directly with consultants to get immediate feedback. In an operational environment where speed is essential, this way of working makes the difference."

Valentina Ippolito, Executive at Reverse who followed the project from the start, adds: "In this market, competition for talent is very high. The goal is twofold: on one hand, it is necessary to identify the right profiles; on the other, one must find a way to attract and convince them in a sector where they are contested by many players. When you have managers with high expectations and such a competitive context, every phase of the process becomes crucial so as not to lose the candidate."

The challenge is therefore to maintain high standards even with tight deadlines, ensuring that every candidate presented meets company needs with the necessary reactivity.

The collaboration with Champion Europe by Orbico SportStyle has progressively transformed into a strategic partnership thanks to the coordinated work of an entire Reverse Team.

2.1 Trust and understanding: teamwork

The leap in quality of the partnership between Reverse and Champion Europe by Orbico SportStyle occurred thanks to the ability to develop a deep understanding over time of corporate dynamics and recruiting needs.

Anna Pieroni describes the collaboration: "An authentic harmony was created with the Reverse team. The reports provided are complete, and this is complemented by the direct and ongoing relationship, which is fundamental when working at an intense pace because it allows for immediate answers." She adds: "When a candidate is flagged to me as particularly valid, I know that evaluation is aligned with our organizational sensitivity."

This harmony is not immediate but stems from the consultants' ability to delve into aspects of the corporate culture that are not immediately evident: "The team demonstrates great transparency and curiosity. This listening approach makes the difference."

Valentina also confirms this harmony: "A relationship of mutual understanding developed with Anna. Trust is built through consistent results and the ability to understand not only the stated needs but also the underlying organizational dynamics. This allowed us to develop a collaboration where both parties invest in the quality of the process."

Asking the right questions, catching the nuances, understanding not only what is being looked for but why: these are the elements that transformed the relationship into a collaboration based on concrete results.

2.2 The proprietary dashboard: organization and transparency

A distinctive element of the Reverse methodology is the proprietary technological platform, which represents much more than a simple organizational tool.

Anna Pieroni highlights the concrete advantages: "The platform offers a complete and organized view. All presented candidates, their feedback, and the selection progress are accessible in a single environment. This eliminates the fragmentation typical of email management and allows for constant control over the process."

Having a single source of truth accessible at all times becomes fundamental when the HR team manages various selections at an intense pace, allowing line managers to be involved in the decision-making process with full transparency.

2.3 Direct relationship as a speed multiplier

Beyond the effectiveness of technological tools, the quality of the human relationship, as previously mentioned, made the difference in achieving results.

As Anna Pieroni points out: "The direct relationship allows us to continuously update each other and adjust the strategy along the way."

Prioritizing dialogue does not stem from a lack of tools, but from the awareness that in dynamic environments, it is necessary to discuss nuances and align quickly on any necessary adjustment. Reverse manages this constant communication flow, optimizing time without compromising the quality of the evaluation.

The collaboration between Champion Europe by Orbico SportStyle and Reverse demonstrates how an approach based on cultural understanding and accurate assessment generates placements that grow within the organization.

3.1 A case of successful matching

A candidate placed in the merchandising team represents a concrete example of the method’s effectiveness. Anna Pieroni describes it this way: "The candidate we placed in the merchandising team is building a very interesting growth path. This confirms that the selection identified a person truly aligned with our way of working."

The candidate’s growth path shows that the evaluation was able to go beyond technical skills alone, identifying the right cultural fit. In a company where integration into the team is as decisive as hard skills, seeing a person develop and contribute actively represents the best confirmation of the quality of the process.

3.2 A strategic partnership that continues

Champion Europe by Orbico SportStyle has chosen to continue working with Reverse, entrusting new projects in this transformation phase.

Valentina comments: "When a company stops treating you as a supplier and starts involving you in the strategic phases of its transformation, it means you have become part of their ecosystem of trust. This evolution does not happen by chance: it is the result of placements that worked and a deep understanding of their dynamics."

The partnership has been consolidated on the basis of concrete results and trust built over time.

4. Strategic key takeaways

For HR managers operating in dynamic contexts with demanding stakeholders, Champion Europe’s by Orbico SportStyle experience with Reverse highlights six methodological elements that have made a concrete difference:

1. Building trust through consistent results

The continuity of collaboration is not based on a single success, but on the demonstrated ability to generate value over time, maintaining high standards even in demanding contexts. It is the consistency of results over the long term that transforms a supplier into a strategic partner you can trust.

2. Operational speed through direct relationship

In environments where timing is crucial, direct contact with consultants effectively complements structured reports. This approach allows for real-time strategy adjustment and rapid decision-making without losing quality in assessment, ensuring the necessary responsiveness.

3. Managing demanding stakeholders through consultancy

When working with managers who have very high expectations, a partner is needed who can mediate between internal expectations and market reality. The ability to guide stakeholders to understand dynamics and calibrate requests transforms the recruiter from a simple supplier into a strategic consultant.

4. Cultural understanding through active listening

Developing a deep understanding of the company culture allows for the presentation of candidates who are not only technically prepared but also culturally aligned. Transparency in asking questions and seeking clarification when necessary, rather than proceeding with assumptions, builds trust and progressively improves the quality of results.

5. Dashboard as a relationship enhancement tool

The technological platform eliminates information fragmentation typical of email management, offering full visibility on candidates, feedback, and selection status. It does not replace the human relationship but enhances it, providing the organizational structure that allows focus on strategic aspects of recruiting.

6. Retention as a measure of quality matching

In contexts where cultural integration is as decisive as technical skills, the retention rate becomes a fundamental indicator of the quality of the process. When a candidate stays with the company and develops positive career paths, it means the evaluation was able to identify people truly aligned with the organization’s values.

The relationship between Champion Europe by Orbico SportStyle and Reverse is proof that when technology and human relationships integrate, concrete results are generated: quality hires, positive retention, and the peace of mind of having a partner who understands internal dynamics and moves with the speed required by a competitive sector.