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Tag: shoe

  • Louis Vuitton sues Belle International For Copycatting

    Louis Vuitton sues Belle International For Copycatting

    French luxury retailer says Hong Kong company’s shoe designs too similar to its own to be coincidental.

    Luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton is suing two Belle International subsidiaries for copyright infringement.

    The Chinese footwear brands are being taken to court over the design over a pair of trainers valued at HK$8950 (US$1140).

    A High Court document described the case accusing Hong Kong-registered firms Belle International (China) and Best Able Footwear of retailing sneakers substantially similar to its LV Archlight trainers. Louis Vuitton has demanded the firms cease all infringements and hand over or destroy the alleged copies.

    The trial date has yet to be scheduled.

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  • Xtep Takes Over Footwear brands Palladium, K-Swiss and Supra

    Xtep Takes Over Footwear brands Palladium, K-Swiss and Supra

    Palladium, K-Swiss and Supra brands sold by South Korean’owned E-Land Footwear USA.

    Hong Kong-listed sportswear giant Xtep International has bought three US footwear brands from South Korea’s E-Land USA.

    The Chinese company will pay US$260 million for all the outstanding shares in E-Land Footwear USA Holdings, which owns the K-Swiss, Palladium and Supra brands. Settlement is due by the end of July.

    Xtep chairman and CEO Ding Shui Po said the purchase marked the company’s move into “a new era of business” following a three-year strategic transformation.

    He said the brands would complement Xtep’s product portfolio “and elevate us as one of the leading global multi-brand sportswear companies”.

    “Not only will it strengthen Xtep’s foothold in the expanding Chinese sportswear market, but will also provide us with growth opportunities in untapped overseas markets such as Southeast Asia. In other words, Xtep has what it takes to speed up business growth both domestically and overseas in the years to come.”

    All three brands have global name recognition and are target the high end of the market.

    K-Swiss, a heritage athletic shoe brand which was founded in California in 1966, offers performance tennis footwear, lifestyle and fitness footwear targeting athletes and trendsetters. Palladium is one of the best-known global pampa boot brands established in France in 1947. Between them, the brands have a global presence covering more than 80 countries and territories.

    Ding Shui Po said the brands’ distinctive positioning and different target customer groups are highly complementary to Xtep’s brand portfolio.

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  • 2018 Was A Record year for shoe brand Ecco

    2018 Was A Record year for shoe brand Ecco

    Shoe brand Ecco reported record sales last year and its highest profit in its 55-year history.

    Net sales reached €1.31 billion (US$1.49 billion) and profit before tax reached €201 million ($228.1 million).

    “It is very satisfactory for the employees to see all their hard work and enthusiasm rewarded with such a good result, particularly when taking into account that the retail industry is going through a disruptive period and is facing many challenges,” said Ecco CEO Steen Borgholm.

    The gains correspond with the launch of several new products last year, within both the firm’s shoe and leather divisions.

    Direct-to-Consumer sales continued the fast growth of previous years, recording a 10-per-cent growth in brick-and-mortar retail and 36 per cent online. In particular, North America and Asia recorded strong overall market growth with 13 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. More than 50 per cent of Ecco shoes were sold in concept stores – online and offline.

    “In a year Ecco connects with millions of consumers,” said Borgholm. “We still have a lot to do to take full potential of this in our marketing, sales, and operating model. Further investments in the development of new products will continue and help us generate a sustainable and healthy growth for Ecco also in the years to come.”

  • Clarks Kids teams with Avengers

    Clarks Kids teams with Avengers

    Global shoe brand Clarks has stepped out of its usual comfort zone with a range inspired by Marvel’s movie Avengers: Infinity War.

    The Clarks Kids range is described as “an exclusive multi-gender collection” (Yes, we are still wondering how many genders kids relate to, also) that “celebrates strength in unity”.

    Avengers Infinity War launched worldwide on April 27 and is set to be one of the year’s top-grossing movies.

    The Clarks Kids line was released on Friday.

    “Like every kid on the planet, the Avengers all have very different and distinct identities,” explains Jason Beckley, Clarks chief brand officer. “When they join forces, their strengths combine, and they become Earth’s mightiest team of heroes.”

    Beckley says the campaign – Greater Together – aims to encourage kids to celebrate their strengths and abilities and to stand together as one: “empowering them to be fearless, to believe in themselves, and always to support each other through strength in unity”.

    “Kids have the power to change the world. In our view, they are all superheroes. So, what better way to celebrate that than joining forces with Marvel.

    “We follow science and data to support the tradition of putting growing feet in safe hands. Combine that with collaborated passion, imagination and expertise, and you get an innovative footwear collection that provides kids with the freedom to be their true selves.”

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  • Melissa Singapore shoe store world’s largest flagship

    Melissa Singapore shoe store world’s largest flagship

    The newly opened Melissa Singapore shoe store is larger than the hip footwear label’s other flagships in Sao Paulo, London and New York.

    The brand’s dance-inspired range is spread out over 1700 sqft of space dubbed MDreams, in the Raffles City shopping centre.

    The Brazilian label is renowned for its eco-friendly plastic shoe range which includes sandals, flip flops, boots and sneakers. Its footwear is affectionately described as “Jelly shoes”.

    The opening of the Melissa Singapore store MDreams is part of the company’s longer-term strategy to expand brand awareness and sales in Asia.

    “The new Melissa MDreams flagship store gives us the opportunity and platform to evolve our customer experience, ensuring that we continue to deliver authentic and personalised experiences through various enhanced customer loyalty programmes, service standards, and technology application, for a seamless Melissa experience in store,” said Terence Yow, MD of Enviably Me, the local distributor of Melissa.

    The Melissa Singapore store was designed by local interior architecture firm, Laank. Inspired by “dance and movement,” it features curved shelves with a ‘semi-floating’ effect and signature white canvas allows the colourful range to stand out.

    “When we embarked on the project to reimagine how the new Melissa MDreams flagship store would be, the team decided that our customers must be at the heart of everything we do in this project,” added Yow.

    “It is about putting the customer before the design, creating a shopper experience-centric shop design.”

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  • Taiwan-based Shoemaker Set to Expand Factory in Indonesia

    Taiwan-based Shoemaker Set to Expand Factory in Indonesia

    A Taiwan-based sports shoes manufacturer has expressed its interest to expand its business in Indonesia. The company, who has had a factory in Tangerang since 1996 with 1,100 workers, will expand and is expected to absorb up to 10,000 workers.

    The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chairman Franky Sibarani has welcomed the planned expansion. “It’s very positive to help to create employment and optimize investment benefits in a bid to improve people’s welfare,” he said in an official statement as quoted by Bisnis.com, Tuesday, July 12, 2016.

    The BKPM chairman said that the company has picked Majalengka District as one of the possible location for its expansion. The company will expand its factory and also bring along some of its suppliers as part of its supply chain.

    Franky sees it as a positive move amid the government’s effort to make Indonesia as a supply chain hub of products being marketed in Southeast Asia and Asia.

    “We will certainly support labor intensive industries who have set their sight on Indonesia as their production base,” he explained.

    BKPM data shows that investment realization from Taiwan throughout 2015 stood at US$107.95 million, consisted of 275 projects and was ranked 15th in the list of countries investing in Indonesia. Meanwhile, in February 2016 that Taiwan’s outward investment to Indonesia was ranked seventh with a total investment of US$1.5 billion.

    Taiwan’s investment is expected to help achieve the target of 2016 investment realization of Rp594.8 trillion, particularly from foreign investment which is set at Rp386 trillion, or 65% of the targeted total investment realization.