Posted by
xiaoyanw on Monday, August 31, 2009 2:03:26 AM
It’s difficult to imagine the leather boat shoe, long considered a trademark of New England prep school casual attire, as a hot international fashion item.
Compared to the glove leather, wafer-thin soled shoes favored by Milanese designers, the clunky boat shoe with its brass eyelets and rawhide laces looks like the footwear family’s bumpkin cousin.
Equally unlikely is that the boat shoe could protect a domestic manufacturer against rising import levels by hitting the competition on its own turf.
But it’s true, even though the men behind the footwear counterattack are still somewhat surprised by their success.
Last year, the Timberland Co. reported $70 million in sales with one-quarter of that abroad and the bulk of it in European markets. President Reagan recently gave company owners Herman and Sidney Swartz an “E” Certificate for that export achievement.
Fashion in Reverse
The men said a lot of their success has to do with luck and a current fashion maxim: Anything that doesn’t look European sells well in Europe and anything that doesn’t look American sells well in America.
The principle has worked with blue jeans, but the brothers never figured it would work with boat shoes, especially in footwear fashion-conscious Italy.
Last year, however, Italian boutique browsers bought hundreds of thousands of Timberland leather boat shoes.
“We’ve actually created a whole backlash in Italian shoes,” said Sidney Swartz.
“They’re copying us stitch for stitch,” added Herman Swartz.
Herman Swartz said he has heard of Italians coming to America and “loading up” on Timberlands at the lower domestic price of about $70. And recently the company hit a dubious milestone in the name-apparel trade when West Coast customs officials stopped a shipment of bogus Timberlands.
Important Logo
While the brothers said other domestic producers have scored modestly abroad, they attribute their unexpected success to timing, upscale marketing and their all-important logo.
The encircled bare tree logo, emblazoned on the side of Timberland products, has given the company what a smiling crocodile gave to a certain French sportswear manufacturer-status.
It was designed in the 1970s when the company changed course. Herman and Sidney Swartz had taken over the Abington Shoe Co. from their father, who had produced footwear for discount and retail stores that sold them under their own labels.
Welcome to our website www.shoessunshine.com. At our website, you can find latest news of Timberland products, and learn latest information of Timberland shoes cheap sale event and price adjustment. Welcome to select and buy! We accept big or small wholesale orders. We offer classic Timberland boots, men’s 6 inch boots, kid’s Timberland boots, women’s high top boots, and women’s roll-top boots and so on. Welcome to choose and purchase!
Internet reference: http://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-13/business/fi-20955_1
Editor: Vivian