You are in:
Teva
SGB: What's the core of the Teva brand?
Giles Cundell: Teva is traditionally a performance brand - we were the first performance brand to design a universal strapping system sandal, about 26 years ago. The core of our business is outdoor and performance sandals, at the top end of quality.
SGB: The strapping system, the way that you do the sandals up - is that unique to you?
GC: That has been unique to us and patented. Other brands use similar technology but we're pretty confident that they don't do it as well.
SGB: So Teva is an American brand originally? How long has it been in Europe for?
GC: It's been in Europe for over twenty years now - we started off with the Benelux countries, which was our first distribution in Europe, and we've now spread throughout Europe selling in 24 countries
SGB: So are Teva an American product distributed in Europe or are there exclusive European product designs?
GC: If you come into Europe with a purely American line of product then it just doesn't work - Deckers, which is our parent company, understands that, embraces it and has deliberately set up a European team specifically to deal with that issue. The UK range has much more colour and style and more "fast" product. Each market across Europe, as there are differing tastes and sizings with in Europe, is getting exactly what they need. If you want to be a successful brand in any market you've got to have appropriate product for that consumer
SGB: So the fit of the sandals are different?
GC: We've found with open footwear that the shoe needs to be slightly wider, so that you have a little extra space as the foot moves round a bit more than in a closed shoe. We're now moving to a more European fit as we have a separate women's and a men's shape - the womans shoe is narrower as they prefer a sleeker, more fashion forward shoe.
SGB: How is the Teva brand marketed, how do you get word out?
GC: Traditionally we've had print adverts, billboard advertising and we've had a limited website but we're looking to aim at new markets at the moment. We've just employed a new Marketing Director in the US who's working very closely with the European team - he'll be producing a viral online campaign in 2010.
We will continue to do print advertising but on a much smaller scale than we have done historically but it is our distributor's responsibility to market the product in Europe as they're the experts in their own field - they take the lead from the brand but it is down to them to implement the marketing campaign.
SGB: Teva shoes are very identifiable visually - is that a conscious thing?
GC: Yes, there is a specific look which is Teva and we work very hard to keep it but we also innovate annually. We have a very loyal customer who tends to follow their retailer in the outdoor industry, which is good for us because it means that we can get a vision of the brand across every year as we work with the retailers very closely.
SGB: How do retailers carry the Teva message out?
GC: We encourage our distributors to constantly work with their key retailers and avoid budget retailers etc. so we work with the best partners who are going to take our message to the consumer. Teva as a brand moving forward is focussing the marketing spend into the retail environment, so that we concentrate on communicating an unblemished message to the consumer.
We don't have a huge amount of marketing budget so we have to be focussed, for example we are developing a small range of product at the moment for the fashion industry; it's not high fashion, but it's designed to attract a new consumer, a younger consumer in some other distribution channels, whether it be shoe stores, trend stores, whatever. This gives the opportunity for distributors to go to the outdoor buyers and say, ‘Not only is this product practical, functional, high quality but also trendy.' There is an opportunity there as well.To be honest we've been requested that from many of the retailers, they said don't be afraid to make your brand trendy as it'll help us in the long run.
SGB: Do you think Teva is a brand that's benefited from that broader acceptance of outdoor gear as being good for everyday use?
GC: Yeah, I think so. Teva is a brand that is a performance product but you will see people wear Teva going travelling, hanging out at festivals, scuba diving, trekking in hot climates. The reality is Teva gets used for all sorts of other things as well, and we're embracing that as the reality is that many of our consumers are using these as a shoe for lifestyle and travel and all sorts of softer activities.
SGB: What are the cornerstones of the Teva range in Europe?
GC: The biggest selling product we have in the range, and always have had, is the Terra-Fi, which is our walking sandal, trekking sandal. It's a sandal which has always been high price point, top quality, best selling product by quite a long way.
SGB: What should we be looking out for from 2010 from Teva?
GC: In 2010, Teva is keeping its authentic roots and it's moving forward at the same time, so we're keeping many of those products which were traditionally strong for us, but moving into a younger, faster market. Look out for some very exciting new women's product which is sleeker, more stylish, more colourful, some new kids' products, which are stunning, some really exciting new sandals for boys and girls. We also have trekking boots. Teva has traditionally been a spring/summer brand. We recognise the importance of having an autumn/winter business as well. We've brought on board one of the best product designers in the business to work on a range of walking boots, hiking boots, what we call light hiking in America, which is your spring/summer/autumn walking boots. We've developed a fantastic range of product, really, really outstanding, which will be available from around September this year and it will continue for many seasons to come. It's been well received, good initial sell-in, and moving forward over the next two or three years you'll see a lot of development in that area.
