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LOWA
TKC, formerly known as The Kite Company, distributes a number of diverse outdoor sporting brands and goods, including Frisbee, Aerobie, Rollerblade, Nordica and, as the name suggests, kites. Four years ago they diversified further with the distribution of Lowa footwear in the UK, and hope to match the success of the name in Europe with sales here. MD Matt Woodruffe is confident in their success as the brand has solid pedigree behind it, saying: "From a very blunt commercial point of view if we put the right resource behind the brand we've got so much opportunity for growth here in the UK." Matt and Brand Manager David Morton explain their plans and what makes Lowa footwear special...
SGB: What can the independent retailer expect from TKC?
Matt Woodruffe: In terms of the business model the independent retailer wants to make sure that they have authentic, knowledgeable technical backup, a degree of exclusivity from their suppliers and to work in partnership with them. We do retain a great passion and respect for not only the customers, clearly but certainly for the products that we distribute.
SGB: How are TKC introducing Lowa to the UK market?
MW: Lowa has been introduced gradually, as in purely practical terms retailers are unable to switch between brands as and when they wish because of the stock holding and the amount of shelf space they have. But our focus was never to go for the quick, easy wins, we recognised that because of the high quality and the fit quality of Lowa's footwear that a distribution strategy of engaging with the good specialist outdoor stores, that had good technical knowledge on boot fitting was the way forward. Sales have gradually, not stratospherically grown and we've seen good growth this year. In fact David Morton, who has recently joined us as Brand Manager, and was formerly with Scarpa, was astounded by the few number of retailers that we deal with and by the sheer volume of Lowa they sell.
We've still got a huge amount to do which includes finding new partners to spread the distribution more widely but that has been accelerated with the appointment of David because of his experience in the outdoor trade; he's very well known and very well respected.
If it takes ten years to achieve similar success to what Lowa enjoys in Europe, then we'll get there.
SGB:You said that the growth this year has been greater, what's been the main driver?
MW: One initiative that has worked fantastically is that MCS, our PR Company, is working directly with the dealers to run advertorial promos in local newspapers promoting the fit and the quality of Lowa. The promotions are specifically aimed at consumers in that particular geographical area who are encouraged with competitions and vouchers to go in and experience the expert boot fitting that the dealer offers in conjunction with Lowa. It's really simple stuff but some retailers off the back of that simple marketing initiative have been doubling their sales on the previous year.
SGB: One of the things I like about the brand is that it's European made, is that something you're promoting?
MW: Absolutely, there's a huge wealth of detail that supports the quality of Lowa. The original Mr Lowa traipsed around the Alps buying leather direct from the farmers and then turned it into boots. Today Lowa use modern manufacturing techniques but remain based in Europe with a high focus on quality which still starts from the quality of the hide. The tanneries Lowa uses are also aiming to minimise the effect on the environment in terms of how they're treating the hides, which of course is incredibly important. They also quality control products that are manufactured principally out of Düsseldorf near Munich and also in subsidiary factory in Slovakia where they have Lowa-employed quality control.
They [Lowa] pride themselves in how they go about making the best quality boots first and foremost, which is probably why they are used by the armed forces both in the States and the UK. These would have been through quite a lengthy specification and procurement exercise by the powers that be.
Also Lowa has innovated on the technical side, as they established a method of bootmaking around the GoreTex lining's capabilities. A lot of manufacturers were making a GoreTex bootie to then seal inside the boot so they could use the brand name. But the foot bed you then put on top of the GoreTex bootie can shift and rub and work its way through the GoreTex membrane, which breaks the waterproof seal. Lowa patented a method of sealing the GoreTex on the sides and the upper of the boot that doesn't affect the durability of the fabric. It's that investment in innovation that puts Lowa ahead of the rest.
SGB: Tell us more about the Stirling and the Munro boots, as they were developed specifically for the British market?
MW: We commissioned from Lowa just two and a half years ago the Stirling and the Munro boots that were co-developed with some good input from Graham Thompson, creating a full leather boot with a GoreTex or gloved leather lining. We've had such good feedback from our retail customers that we are continuing and the sales are very positively improving, so much so that Denmark and the Benelux countries are now looking at taking on our Stirling and Munro for their markets as well.
David Morton: Basically in the UK, we couldn't find anything from the Lowa collection that really satisfied what the hardcore UK retailers wanted, i.e. one-piece uppers with less stitching detail, which therefore means they have less to go wrong. Just taking out the stitching lines makes the uppers as simple and as waterproof as possible; there's not a lot of point in taking very high quality leather and thumping a thousand stitch holes through it. From my own experience once you've worn a good quality leather lined boot, and you're prepared to look after it, you wouldn't need the GoreTex membrane. Having said that, for someone that suffers with cold feet might benefit from the extra insulation that the Gore membrane gives.
Cosmetically, from the outside Stirling and Munro both look identical, it's the inside where the differences are, in that Munro's got a full leather lining and the Stirling has a full GoreTex lining. We find that both boots sell equally as well in the UK. There are so many GoreTex lined boots out there now, that it's quite difficult to find a good quality non-GoreTex boot, for the people that don't want GoreTex in their footwear. The other thing we did for Munro and Stirling, just over what Lowa offered, was to slim down the heel fit a little; we do find in the UK people to tend to have quite slim heels, but they need the width in the front end of the boot.
SGB: What's your best seller right now?
DM: Our number one selling product in the UK is Renegade, which is also number one in Germany. Renegade is our entry-level walking and rambling boot and it's easy to get on with. It has an easy fit, with a Vibram sole, leather upper, it's GoreTex lined and available in a boot and shoe versions. The loyalty to it is tremendous; after many miles consumers look to the Renegade again, so we've got that sort of heartland area volume; the 'brown boot territory', but what I felt we needed to attract to the Lowa brand was a younger person just getting into the outdoors, doing lots of adventurous things in their weekends and that's where the Bora and Zephyr come in.
SGB: Tell us about the new products for Spring/Summer 09...
DM: What we've got coming new for next year is a range of what Lowa market as a crossover product; whether you're walking, cycling or going on one of these high rope courses that are popping up round the country now, Bora and Zephyr are the multi-activity products with a bit of a younger slant.
It's a technically engineered very lightweight product which has a wrap-around protective frame; this is injection moulded around the boot. The frame, called ALT, is injection moulded as apposed to glued meaning it's pretty permanent; you're not going to get any peeling off. It also gives really good abrasion resistance around the outside of the footwear, as it's rubber takes any knocks and scrapes. The ALT frame gives a good degree of stability to the foot and dispenses with the need for extra foam padding therefore improving the breathability.
So based on that ALT frame we've got three products which will all be GoreTex XCR lined. There is the boot called the Zephyr, the mid cut product called the Bora and the shoe: the Zephyr Low, which is identical to the boot in construction and cosmetics. We then have a non GTX shoe developed for travel and warm climates called the Vento Lo featuring the same ALT frame technology.
To view the latest footwear from Lowa please visit http://www.lowa.de/ or call TKC on Tel: 0870 870 0150 for more information.
