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UK Gear
More miles per pound is what David Hinde, Managing Director and owner, UK Gear, says runners get from their shoes. They're harder wearing, designed for multiple terrains and are good enough for the British Army, one of the most demanding, exacting organisations in the world.
Starting life in 1993 as a sportswear brand, UK Gear has - pun intended - found its feet with running shoes, which is now their core offering. David spoke to SGB about what makes them different from the competition, their upcoming apparel line and how they support retailers.
SGB: Tell us how UK Gear began...
David Hinde: I had a sporting promotions business, and I saw a way of developing a sporting brand alongside that business. I was meeting a lot of sporting organisations that couldn't get kit sponsorship or couldn't get a supply of quality merchandise through the big brands. They were under the sights of the major brands, organisations like Scottish Athletics, Welsh Athletics, even the Commonwealth Games team at the time couldn't attract a major sportswear sponsor. So I thought, if I could offer a design service which offers them their own unique identity, it might be a way to develop a nice business and establish a brand.
We started with the local rugby club designing and making their shirts, then we won the contract to supply the Scottish Commonwealth Games team for Canada 94 with competition and training clothing for 300 athletes. Then we got Wales as well, for the same games.
That was really a launchpad, and after those games, we worked at supplying those athletics federations' clothing for the next three or four years.
From there, we saw an opportunity in cricket; cricketers were running around wearing old-style white polycotton t-shirts. We decided to kind of 'reinvent' the cricket shirt. I had some contacts at Warwickshire Cricket Club, from my days in sports promotion, and did some design work on a new white cricket shirt which they liked. Within two years we supplied Surrey, Hampshire, Notts, Leics, Northants... We did that until about 2000, and the pinnacle was supplying the West Indies cricket team for a few years.
It was good exposure and good experience kitting out the likes of Curtley Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Brian Lara, but there's not a lot of money in it. It's good for developing brand credibility and heritage, but there's not a huge merchandising opportunity in cricket.
I'd always wanted to move in to footwear and I thought we'd gone as far as we could in apparel, where we didn't see any real opportunities to move into the retail market sector. We wanted to take the brand to the consumer through a product, and footwear seemed the way forward.
The problem was, you can have the best product in the world, with experience and knowledge behind it, but unless people are going to believe in it straight off, they're not going to buy it. Also, in the 90s I'd had mixed experiences in developing product with athletes, sometimes feedback is indifferent or counterproductive. I thought, if we're going to invest all the resources we've built up over the years into a new footwear product, I want to make sure the feedback we get is creditable and true. What organisation is there in the UK that's serious about their physical fitness and uncompromising in their standards and will give us honest, solid feedback? I thought on it for a while, and couldn't think of an athletic organisation. I kept coming back to the British Army. They're serious about their physical fitness and uncompromising in their standards, and I thought it would be interesting to work with them as an organisation.
It took a lot of hard work, but we became the first company to develop a commercial product in conjunction with the army. People develop product with the army all the time, but that's for the army; this was for the general public, but using the army's expertise and knowledge to develop the product.
We launched the shoe in 2004 after a couple of years of design and testing, and since then we've flown; the shoe's sold all over the world.
SGB: So the shoe was developed with the army, but were they actually using it?
DH: Through the procurement arm of the army, they saw what we had done and were looking for a new running shoe for the army. So it went back in to the army on a trial, competing with other shoes, and we won that as well, so the shoe is the official shoe for all British Army recruits from this year. It's been a success commercially, but also back into the military.
Since then we've sold shoes to the German army, and the shoes made for the British Army were bought by the US Army's Westpoint Military Academy, and the US Air Force. It's like selling oil to the Arabs, selling training shoes to the US military. We now have 30 military camps in the US selling our shoes across the Navy, Marine Corps and the US Army. We were surprised recently to find out that they're now even sold at the Pearl Harbour naval base!
SGB: What it is in the army product that makes them so suited to military personnel?
DH: There are lots of little things, but the single point of difference to most commercial products is the durability. When we started out, we had a user team of ten very experienced Army Physical Training Corps instructors. They were a varied bunch including people of different ages, with different experiences, both genders. We set out what would be ideal performance footwear for the army. It came down to two categories - an outdoor running shoe with off-road capability, and a multi-sport indoor shoe; basically, if you only had two shoes in your kit bag, these would be the ideal two.
The mission was therefore to design two all-round shoes. We started on the running product, the PT-03. We had conversations about how much control it needed, how much torsion ability, stability... the big thing was durability, as shoes may not last long when used by people with heavy body mass, they might become unstable quickly. Tread patterns were discussed, so the shoe could be used on road and trail and work effectively on both. Comfort is also very important, obviously, we looked at hot spots, breathability. But durability really came top of their wishlist.
We had to find the balance between durability and performance, because generally the more durable the shoe, the heavier and stiffer it is. We believe we have found that balance. The criticism we get occasionally is that the shoe is a bit firm; but that initial firmness is giving you the durability. I liken it to car tyres; you can have super-sticky Pirellis that you can use immediately on a race track and stick like glue from day one, but that are good for maybe one race - or there's the tyre you have to do two or three laps in, that wears in and you can go longer with. It's the same with the running product.
People sometimes misunderstand the relationship between firmness and shock absorption; they think because it's firm they're not getting enough shock absorption But we manage this with our NRG shock absorption pads in the heel, in conjunction with our high grade Solite EVA midsole This gives plenty of shock absorption where you land, but great control where the shoe rolls, giving longevity and stability.
SGB: What's the average mileage for the runner in the PT03?
DH: We try and achieve over 500 miles with our shoes, but I think the estimate of 300 to 500 miles for the modern commercial shoe is probably on the high side; that's anecdotal evidence I've heard from runners, though.
We've had shoes with 800 miles on, but it depends on the individual user and where they're running. Even so, I would say that without doubt ours are the longest-wearing shoes on the market.
SGB: Are shoes all that you do now?
DH: We still do apparel - we have a range we have developed with the army, which is super-technical X-static (includes pure silver threads) PT Corp wear, which we're launching next year, but our main focus is footwear.
SGB: When are you launching the apparel?
DH: It's market-dependent. It's all ready to go, but some of the big brands are throwing clothing to the trade below cost at the moment which means a brand wanting to launch high quality apparel at an appropriate price can't get into the market.
When a buyer can go and buy a container of technical t-shirts for less than cost, it doesn't matter how much better your gear is, the buyer won't buy it. Everyone loves our stuff, the Army are wearing it now, and we're selling it online, but getting a buyer to buy it is unlikely to happen. Until the market is right for it, there is no point in launching.
SGB: How many stockists do you currently have in the UK?
DH: Taking the military out, around 30. We don't have salesmen on the road, which probably inhibits that number, but we're always on the lookout for new stockists.
SGB: How do you support the retailer?
DH: We do point-of sale, we just designed a new stand for the Sweatshop for the PT-03 DESERT and PT-03 WINTER shoes we just launched. We do bespoke point of sale too, depending on what space the retailer gives us. We also offer excellent staff training, usually conducted by a recently retired APTC Senior Master at Arms.
Next year we're going to develop a test track here (just outside Rugby) for people to come and test product; we've got five acres of grounds so we're making a 'trim trail' with different surfaces and different, interesting terrain and aspects so the shoes can get a real good workout. Someone could come and run the world in one place. Instead of having sales reps say 'here's our new shoe', they can come and run in it, meet the designers, make a day of it.
SGB: What's consumer feedback been like?
DH: The big task isn't getting the consumer to buy our product, it's getting the buyer to buy it. Once a consumer tries our product on, we know they'll love it. We know what our returns are; we offer a 21-day free run trial, so you can buy them and run in them for 21 days and if you don't like them, return them for a full refund. Since we started that, our return rate has actually gone down. People would try them, maybe not be totally sure, and maybe send them back; when we said 'go for a run in them, go for a few runs' they understood and fell in love with them.
Now we have maybe one in 50 returns. We have some size-related returns, but that's about it.
We're totally confident that given the right opportunity and the right retailer, with someone selling the shoes that knows what they're talking about, and can explain why they feel a bit firmer, people will enjoy our shoes and get more value for money with our shoes. We say you get more miles per pound out of a UK Gear shoe, and in the current climate that can only be a good thing - and a great selling point.
SGB: Do you see yourselves as pioneers? Looking back at what you've done in cricket, rugby and now a different approach to running shoe development?
DH: Definitely. We were the first company to introduce man-made fibres into test cricket, we were the first to put the England Ladies Cricket Team into trousers - and that caused a real fuss at the time - we were the first to put polyester into Rugby Union shirts, which is now the norm. That was back in 1994, and we had a real struggle to convince the players to wear it. Now, they all do, and the rugby world takes it for granted.
Yes we were certainly pioneers, just as we are now by finally bringing something new into the sports and outdoor retail market.
