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HUSH
Puppies is targeting a 20-percent “plus” growth in sales
next year and will be offering its customers more
styles, especially in the children’s market.
In an
interview with BusinessMirror, Gifford T. Chu, president
of Shoemakers Shop Inc., the local licensee of the
Michigan-based Hush Puppies brand, said: “We will
achieve this through organic growth with deeper
inventory with a wider range of styles, especially in
the kids’ category. We will also carefully expand
distribution, but in better upmarket centers. Marketing
will focus on communicating fresh styles each season, as
well as strengthening our ownership of the comfort
equity.”
While
Hush Puppies’ ubiquitous suede-casual shoes have been
sold in the Philippines since the 1970s primarily via
retail through commissaries of US military bases, as
well as PX stores in Dau, Pampanga and Cartimar in Pasay
City, the brand was actually relaunched locally only in
2000. Chu said since then, two to three outlet stores
have been opened simultaneously in the country, with 29
now in the entire network. “We’re present in all the
major malls in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, including
the outlets, all free-standing stores. We also have
‘shop in shops’ in SM malls.” All provincial stores are
company-owned as well.
He said
Shoemakers Shop chose to sell Hush Puppies instead of
other shoe brands because it has been well-known in the
Philippines for many years, “and the US company’s
renewed investments in product development and marketing
have encouraged us to relaunch the brand.”
Chu said
the Hush Puppies business has been growing significantly
since 2000, with an average turnover of 25 percent to 30
percent “in a good year,” and 10 percent during a “low
year.” He expressed confidence that the company would
achieve its projected 25 percent growth for the 2007.
“Sales have been phenomenal compared to last year. Our
sales have been continuously growing over the past
several years, except for the year 2005, when the
economy was really bad due to the political crisis.
Definitely we will exceed our sales targets this year.
The growth was delivered by distinctive products with
superior footwear comfort technology, distribution
expansion and intensive marketing efforts, which
includes print and TV advertising.”
He said
sales in the company’s provincial stores “are picking
up” especially in Cebu, also because of the influx of
tourists in that market, and the general uptick in the
local economy. Aside from Cebu, the company has major
stores in Cagayan de Oro and
Davao. “Their sales are stable but they’re not a major
contributor to the total pie. It’s good exposure though…
there’s actually a niche market in Cagayan de Oro
because there are a lot of private subdivisions [around
our store].”
After
opening a store in the TriNoma in Quezon City just this
year, the company is hinging the establishment of more
Hush Puppies outlets “on commercial centers that are
opening. As long as there are commercial centers opening
and we get invited to operate [we will do so].” Most of
the new stores, he said, will be located in Metro
Manila.
The
major sellers in the Hush Puppies lineup, he said, is
its corporate “street smart” collection and the casual
women’s wear. As a licensee of the US-based company,
Shoemakers Shop offers most of Hush Puppies’ so-called
global collection.
“We
introduce new styles every month. Our bestsellers are
the casual styles for women that feature the Wave Reflex
outsole, for men, our Waterproof collection tops the
list. The Wave Reflex outsole is a patented sole design
that allows your feet to flex naturally even with these
shoes on. These Waterproof products have seam-sealed
uppers that prevent water from getting into the shoes.
Your feet are kept dry even if you step in a puddle of
water.”
Chu said
Hush Puppies appeals to a wide range of age groups from
a teener buying her first shoes for high to middle
managers wanting to upgrade their wardrobes, office
workers and housewives who want to buy comfortable shoes
for traveling. “We carefully select styles that will
cater to different customer profiles—that is why we have
several collections inside the store—such as corporate
wear, sport casuals and sandals.”
Hush
Puppies products are manufactured in Brazil, Vietnam,
Malaysia and China. “Given the deep resources of our
parent company, Wolverine World Wide Inc., we are able
to select from a wide range of manufacturing sites
across the globe, taking into account the cost, quality
and speed of delivery.
These
sites are periodically audited by a third-party agency,
so ethical standards as well as quality are ensured in
the Philippines, as well as in 120 countries worldwide
where Hush Puppies is sold,” he explained.
Asked to
comment on the Filipinos’ current penchant for flip
flops, Chu said, “I think the flip flop brand you’re
referring to is quite clever because they were able to
turn something very commonplace into a premium-priced
product in their category. I don’t think flip flops are
a fad, as seen in the long history of this particular
brand in other markets. But definitely Hush Puppies
continues to grow dramatically even with the growth of
flip-flops in our market because you can’t wear flip
flops appropriately or comfortably for all occasions,
like school, to the office. There will always be room
for stylish and comfortable leather shoes in the
market.”
Part of
the marketing strategy of Shoemakers Shop is to remodel
existing stores into “lifestyle concept stores.” The
stores are being refurbished to give a “fresher
perspective” and will carry, other than shoes, clothing
and accessories.
Parent
Wolverine is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:WWW).
In the first half of 2007, Wolverine reported an
unaudited profit of $37.8 million, up almost 12 percent
from the same period last year. The company attributed
its higher profit to the increasing demand for its
products in international markets, with order backlogs
rising to 6 percent in the second quarter, compared to
the same quarter in 2006. The company projects total
revenues this year at $1.2 billion to $1.23 billion.
Wolverine’s other brands include Wolverine Leathers,
CAT, Merrell, Harley Davidson Footwear, Patagonia
Footwear, Track ‘N Trail, Sebago, Stanley Footgear,
Hytest Safety Footwear, and Bates Uniform Footwear.
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