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1000 Mile
As brand names go, 1000 Mile is a trusted and widely recognised name among runners. But there's so much more to 1000 Mile Sportswear Ltd than their socks, with the distribution of great brands like Thuasne, Compeed, Mueller and Nathan (among many others) under their wings, too. Jack Galaun took the time to talk to SGB about the company's excellent staff training and tells us what makes the company tick...
SGB: How does 1000 Mile find the brands you want to work with?
Jack Galaun: We are fortunate that most come to us because of our reputation and track record in the sports, outdoor, leisure and well-being arenas. Three or four, over the last few years, have approached us and said "We've seen your profile on the internet, we've heard about you, would you like to distribute our brands?" Provided it has a synergy and cross-selling ability within our portfolio, we will review it and be delighted to take it on.
SGB: What is the biggest part of the company in terms of turnover?
JG: Socks, by quite a long way as they are our own brand and we manufacture them.
SGB: Presumably there is growth elsewhere though?
JG: We are fortunate that there is growth everywhere. The ranges we represent are constantly evolving with well thought-out, relevant products, so there is no reason for there not to be growth. And the principals of the brands would not like us to just sit idly by and see the performance of their products being static, they want growth.
SGB: Do you have any input into the product development of the brands you distribute?
JG: In a small way, yes we do. We might recommend certain items which are peculiar to Britain, quite a few of our brands are American and things that might work in America might not work in Britain and vice versa. So we do have an input, but it's not crucial to those companies, I don't think, but they do respect us and know what we're doing here.
SGB: How do you maintain the recognition and trust the brand has achieved?
JG: Basically, service. We are 100% focussed on service; we don't mess customers around; we're very rarely out of stock; we don't have issues; our products are good... . Plus our salesmen get out to see customers and the public so that they are up to date on the needs of the retailer and the consumer. I am proud to say that I believe we are the role model for a good company. Our customers feed this back to us - they're receptive to us, they like us, they like the way we work. And because of the wide range of quality brands we represent within the same field, we are a one-stop shop for customers - they can come to us and stock up on socks [1000 Mile], sports bras [Thuasne], a hydration unit [Nathan], a knee support (Mueller), all in one go.
SGB: As you're a stock-holding company, and none of your ranges are particularly seasonal, is most of your custom just-in-time or do you use a pre-order model?
JG: We can do either. With our larger customers we appreciate forward commitment and then it's a case of once we know what their needs are, we assure them that they can order just in time or whatever. But like anything else you need to know the demand.
SGB: Your sales staff are very impressive in their depth of knowledge across the ranges; are they a key part of how you support retailers?
JG: Certainly. They are a dedicated and long-standing team. They are always happy to go into stores for staff training whether it's before, during or after opening hours. Most of our products are very technical and do require some explanation, whether it's the working of a sock or the attributes of a sports bra or sports medicine. We will always offer and support our customers in that.
We also support sell-through with advertising and PR. For the London Marathon for example, we had a new campaign - meetthesocks.com: Meet the Socks, which was highly amusing and very, very effective. It is now running out through other activities. We support some of our specialist running customers on race days or events with staff and sometimes with product. We're doing one now with Maxim Nutrition, who give us a race promotion budget for things like product and winning line tapes. We also support customers at shows like Intersport, the STAG Show, sometimes the Outdoor Show.
SGB: What, for you, sums up the 1000 Mile ethos? What's your credo?
JG: We've got that pinned on our wall, as it happens, for everybody to see. It's quite long: ‘To distribute innovative performance-led products to discerning retailers. To listen to the needs of our retailers and their customers and respond accordingly. To support our products through an integrated PR and marketing campaign. To maintain our position as a trustworthy, reliable and proactive distributor of innovative, performance-led products to an expanding yet discerning client base.' That's our mantra and when we have our sales meetings, that's how we lead it off.
SGB: Do you support the retailers in terms of point of sale and retail merchandise materials?
JG: We are aware of how limited space often is within specialist stores so we bear that in mind with our POS support. We have sock stands, shelf tags, cards, posters, etc and have produced dedicated material for clients such as Millets for example who wanted a technical diagram, A2 or A0 size, which they could hang up and it would give an explanation of our socks.
SGB: So would you say that enabling the retailer to communicate technical information effectively with the end user is almost your point of sale support?
JG: It is, and that's why staff training and communication is important. If they have, let's say, the Fusion sock, they'll sit down with them and for twenty minutes, half an hour, explain the attributes and tell them how it works so that when Joe Public comes in and says "Oh I need a pair of socks, what is the Fusion sock?" the retailer himself will say "I know all about that."
Our staff are good, they know what they're selling and hopefully a little bit brushes off on our retailers who can then inspire confidence in our brands with the customer. And if there's doubt they know they can just phone up and say for example "I've got a customer in here who's got an Achilles problem or patella problem, what do you recommend?...". This is particularly helpful on the Mueller sports medicine side which is highly complicated and moves into the field of physiotherapy and medical. Provided it doesn't involve us in complicated medical advice, all our staff here are competent enough.
