You are in:
A brand with vision
Established since 1970, how has Ronhill evolved to position itself in the current UK running market? What defines it today?
Ronhill started life as a mail order company in the 1970s, when running was a minority sport. During the 1980s with the advent of the London marathon and Great North Run the brand enjoyed enormous success with little competition.
That changed, however, in the 1990s, whilst we sat back on our laurels and allowed the shoe companies to move into the clothing market.We were happy to trade as a Trackster brand, we were still profitable but the brand was less in touch with the new consumer and we had stopped being creative.
All that changed in late 2000/01 with a new design and management team brought in to re-energise the business, and make the brand relevant again.My job was to enable the new team to put their ideas into practice. The first thing we did was ask the market what was going on and the clear message was the running boom was still with us but was predominantly female. So that has been our primary focus for the past few years, and it’s working.
What defines us today is that we are the only British running clothing brand.We primarily design for running, and we have a traditional male customer aged 40-65 who loves the brand (and tracksters) and a target female customer aged 25-45 who goes to the gym, runs 2-3 times a week, is less competitive and may do the Race for Life. She runs to relieve stress, improve health and fitness, and to be sociable with friends.
As a group of people our challenge is to give a consistent message; running is simple, easy, inexpensive and very effective. You can set your own goals and it’s fun.We are easy to deal with as a business, and treat our customers and consumers how we would wish to be treated.
Talk us through your products for the athletic male.
There are three main ranges for autumn 2007: Vizion, Advance and Classic.Vizion is a 12 piece comprehensive winter running range, incorporating waterproof, windproof jackets, mid and base layer tops and finally tight and looser fitting (trackster) running bottoms in high visibility colours. The idea is that safety is paramount in the winter.More people are running with Ipods and are therefore less aware of traffic, we have tried to address this issue by making sure that drivers see the runners in good time.
The Advance range focus is on technical performance, but with style. A 19 piece collection with three jacket, tops, tights, t shirts and 4 different length shorts to cater for all tastes.Moisture management, breathability and wicking are all key elements in the range, but colour co - ordination and a great looking outfit also helps sell through in store.
Finally the Classic range, more CORE products, simpler colour palette, traditional and functional for those who don’t want to stand out. This is available in season and allows the retailer to MSMR (maximise sales at minimal risk).
So in summary,Vizion and Classic are really core products, Advance is limited to one season and although technical is effectively limited edition product that keeps the retail environment fresh and appealing to the consumer.
There is of course a comprehensive range of accessories that complement the three collections
You also cater extensively for the athletic female – how have the requirements for this market sector changed since you began trading back in he 70’s?
Certainly through the 1970s and even in the 1980s women were in the minority in running, just look at the change in the London Marathon mix over the past 25 years.Women had to get by with small or extra small men’s gear basically, and neither Ronhill nor anyone else was taking women seriously at that point. In fact Ronhill only really started in 2001, when our head of design, Jackie Turnbull joined the company. She was the catalyst behind the women’s collections. In the early days she did extensive research into the market talking to specialist buyers at stores like Sweatshop, Up and Running and London City Runner. More recently we have had great feedback from female specific retailers, for example, She Active.
First reactions as you would expect were rather mixed from retail, but sell through in key stores like Sweatshop convinced us to focus the majority of our development time and budget on this new exciting area of sales. Five years later that faith has been vindicated with the women’s ranges accounting for more than 50% of our current turnover. It’s astonishing really!
What about your junior range – is the aim to provide for the entire family?
I am really pleased that you asked about the kids range, as it’s not necessarily the next best commercial move, but it is clearly a natural extension for the brand.We are very successful in the women’s market, and eventually many of our customers will become mothers, aunts and grandmas. The mum looks after the family unit including food, clothes, school, health care, holidays etc and of course school in sport is back on the agenda for many reasons. People like Jamie Oliver have done a great job in getting media and Government attention here. One of our aims is to engage the entire family, but more importantly give youngsters the chance to enjoy sport. There is not much kit choice out there right now, but the more that we can encourage kids to run and jog or go to the gym, the better.
It strikes me that as a brand you are conscious of the affordability factor. In terms of quality and price, what does each range have to offer?
Price and affordability! That’s a big question.Generally price deflation in textiles over the past 10 years has made it very challenging to produce great kit that performs, looks great and offers fantastic value. When you also factor in that we mainly source in Europe to avoid big mistakes and give much better in season service, I believe that our buying team have done an excellent job in sourcing for a relatively small technical brand.
In range terms Advance and Aspiration (for women) stack up pound for pound with anything currently in the marketplace. Classic offers great value to the general/multisport enthusiast, its price and quality combination beats most other brands. The Junior range by its very nature has to be price sensitive as kids grow up very quickly, so its not an investment purchase is it?
Overall we are very aware of price, but we are reaching a point where the consumer wants good product and retailers do not want to trade down or get into the price wars that sometimes break out with major brands in multiple retail. That’s why independents and specialist stores are so important to the brand.
What was the inspiration behind the Celestial range?
The growing women’s running market is part of a larger fitness boom. Our female customer sees running as just one of many keep fit activities and leisure pursuits.We therefore saw the potential for the brand to cross over into the broader gym/fitness market.We did this by creating a neat range of clothing that has softer style lines with a fashionable silhouette. The result is a range of stylish products that can be worn to walk the kids to school or take part in a gym class.
How do you combine fashion with function? How important is this balance to market success?
Over the years there have been some heated debates between sales, design and management on this matter. Does the retailer want continuity and the consumer change and innovation? At last we have a consensus, which is; the product must be fit for purpose in terms of design, fabrics, trims etc. So for example, we would always have reflective trims on running tights. However style, fit, look and hanger appeal are critical in the modern retail environment, so both function and fashion go together. As a simple rule of thumb we believe that technical is more important to men, and look feel and fit to women. The products must perform for women; they just have to look fantastic as well!!
Any new product launches?
As you would expect we have lots of projects in the mix, but specifically this autumn sees the major push on Vizion for safer running, next spring we have a new Shape collection for women, and the kid’s range will remain a strong area of development. New areas of interest are Nordic walking/female and the off road trail running and biking/male.We also have a major push planned aimed at grassroots club running, but I am sworn to secrecy on that one!
Seriously, we see fantastic opportunities in running and associated sports over the next few years in the build up to 2012 in London. The market is as buoyant now as it was back in the 1980s boom time, so we need to move quickly to maximise our opportunities and secure our market position in the UK.
How important is online retail as a source of revenue?
Online is clearly important to everyone in business. For Ronhill it fills the distribution gaps left when we stopped dealing with Blacks, Millets, Halfords, JJB and Allsports, which left us with over 1000 less points of sale. The Internet and retail are here to stay, and should be embraced by the retail trade. Over the next 5 years online business will continue to grow and its up to the specialist and independent sports stores to grab a share of that business and secure it for themselves
What is the brand’s relationship with the independent retailer?
The specialist running stores and independent stores are the platform on which we have built a vibrant and profitable business over the past few years.We are very well represented in the 100-150 specialist running stores throughout the UK, and have seen strong growth through STAG and Intersport members recently.
As the major brands are much bigger in size they feel that they have to work with multiple retailers, and similarly those retailers need major brands. I suppose it’s a bit like the Premier League and the Championship in football.At this stage we are more than happy to continue to focus on supporting independents and specialists as long term partners rather than a short term stepping stone to something bigger, but not necessarily better.
Do you provide retailers with merchandising and technical support?
We feel that in-store POS and merchandising are essential, and have continued to improve this area season upon season. Bringing the range and stories to life in-store is very important for the retailer.Many stores need to be more professional in how they present and sell clothing. Generally clothing sales represent around 30-35%of revenues for a specialist store and if they are not hitting that number they need to look at merchandising and staff training.As one of the few clothing only brands with over 30 years experience we think we can help improve sell through and contribution from our line.
The sales team currently provides technical support, but our main point of difference is in season service. If a retail partner makes a forward order commitment on key lines we guarantee to stock back them in season, thereby enabling them to sell more at full price with no additional stock risk.We believe that retailers need this sort of flexible support in order to grow and prosper in the future.
Can you offer any advice to the independent retailer trying to compete in such a fierce marketplace?
Avoid a ‘me too’ approach: do not get sucked into price wars with bigger retailers, and focus on what you can influence. In simple terms specialise and play to your strengths, team sports will always be popular, and choose what you are good at and do it well. Avoid brands that are available everywhere and heavily discounted, it’s a very competitive marketplace and there are many secondary brands that have much to offer retail partners looking for long term business relationships.
Also find good staff and train them well, pay them well and keep them motivated. If you are interested in the women’s side of sports make sure you have female staff good changing rooms lights and mirrors. In short make your store different and appealing.
Where do you see the brand in ten years time?
Ronhill has a unique position in the UK market and we as a team want to create a profitable and sustainable business.Growth will come from European markets undoubtedly over the next 5-10 years but our key focus is the UK. Why you might ask?
First, we know the market well and are known in it. Market conditions are favourable and the next 5 years will be exciting with the 2012 London Olympics at the end of that time frame. However if we want a sustainable business we have to help grow the market.
So the second point is the legacy after the Olympics; are we left with a fitter healthier country. We currently have 2 million people running regularly in the UK, how do we get this to 4 million in 10 years. We will encourage youngsters through school and club initiatives, and adults through gyms and corporate workplace initiatives.
In 10 years someone else will be in charge here, but I would like to look back and be able to say we did something special, something unique, I am sure the accountants could give you a number, but that’s not really the point.
