Goldwin Inc. of Japan plans to increase distribution of its luxury Goldwin ski apparel brand by ten-fold to about 200 doors in the United States by 2017, the CEO of the company’s new U.S. subsidiary told The B.O.S.S. Report.
Goldwin America, Inc. incorporated in 2013 and opened its offices in Manhattan Beach, CA earlier this year. Goldwin Ski already has 20 dealers in the United States and 10 in Canada, where it is offering all 2,000 SKUs from its 2014/15 international line introduced at both ISPO and SIA Snow Show.
“Our intention with this expansion is to grow our worldwide brand with a very large demographic that resides in the U.S.,” said Shuzo Nojima, who was named CEO of Goldwin America earlier this month. “Goldwin is known for being an innovative, performance-driven brand that incorporates the best in technology with gorgeous, state-of-the-art fabrics and silhouettes.”
Goldwin America will kick off a second phase of expansion in the United States in 2015 after General Manager of Sales and Marketing Arnaud Claude recruits a sales force. Claude has more than 20 years experience in worldwide sales and marketing for active-oriented sportswear and accessories brands and is founder of VSV, a consulting firm that helped Goldwin establish itself in Europe over the last five years. He will focus on opening accounts in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, West Coast, Rocky Mountains and the Southwest territories.
The goal is to be in about 200 stores by the end of 2016 and open an online store to increase customer awareness of the brands. While Goldwin makes performance apparel for cycling and motorcycling under its Goldwin brand, its U.S. subsidiary is currently focused only on the Goldwin ski line and C3fit, the company’s in-house compression garment brand. C3fit is offering 300 SKUs in North America and has signed up its first three U.S. and first two Canadian dealers. In addition to ski shops, Goldwin is targeting C3fit on specialty running and women's fashion sports boutiques.
“Goldwin and C3fit will participate in next winter's Outdoor Retailer and SIA Shows,” Nojima said. “We are presently in the process of hiring sales reps for both brands in Canada and the US. We understand the best way to reach our target retailers is through experienced reps who know and understand the regions they cover. Since our products have always been for the better market, we approach new territories slowly and deliberately. We don’t want to rush expansion in the U.S. since our state-of-the-art products require a high level of understanding of the materials and fashion.”
Goldwin’s U.S. expansion appears well timed. Despite drought that caused ski visits to decline in the Sierra Nevada and Pacific Northwest and Northern Europe this past season, snowsports retailers in the Rockies and New England had a good year and U.S. resorts reported an uptick in visit by the type of affluent destination guests Goldwin Ski targets. Many of Goldwin’s ski jackets sell for well over $1,000, or above retail prices commanded by such premium North American performance brands as Arc’teryx. Goldwin sold through limited-edition versions of its Goldwin’s Yoroi ski jacket and pants this winter at $2,000 each. Nojima said the rest of the line did well despite very dry weather in northern Europe, the Tahoe region and other snowsports destinations.
The 2014/15 Goldwin Collection introduced at both ISPO and SIA Snow Show represents a departure from the past, in that it's evolving into lighter weight, layering systems of protection and fashion.
Sales approaching $550 million
A publicly-traded company, Goldwin, Inc. posted consolidated earnings of ¥54.9 billion ($549 million US) for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. While relatively unknown in America, the comany is among Japan’s largest designers, manufacturers and distributors of premium athletic and outdoor apparel. In addition to its own brands, it has rights to more than two dozen brands in Japan, South Korea and other parts of Asia. It has distributed The North Face in Japan since 1978. It added licenses for Danskin, Filson, Fischer and Helly Hansen in the 1980s, Speedo in 2007 and Icebreaker in 2012. It employs more than 200 people researching and developing fabrics and apparel for not just athletic, outdoor and medical markets, but for industrial applications and even the International Space Station.
Until now, however, Goldwin has limited its presence in the United States to joint ventures. In the 1980s Goldwin manufactured a line of ski and athletic apparel for a partner, who went out of business four years later. In a second joint venture launched in 1994, Goldwin acted as manufacturer for a line of golf apparel and accessories. That partner spent a lot of money on marketing and was able to establish a presence after several years, but ultimately failed. Goldwin launched its own golf brand And Per Se in 2013.
“We have learned that in order to effectively promote a brand, you must do more than just create state-of-the-art product,” said Nojima. “You have to educate the consumer and make them aware of what these products can do for them and their active lifestyle. Goldwin America is structured that way to achieve those goals.”
Nojima has been an executive with Goldwin, Inc. for more than 30 years, and an officer of the company for the past five. He has extensive experience in helping Goldwin broaden its international base. Before being tapped to run Goldwin America, he directed business operations at the company’s European subsidiary, which was established in 2012, as well as Goldwin Italia and Shanghai Goldwin.
“Europe is most definitely a bigger market for ski than the U.S., mainly due to its diverse consumer base,” Nojima said. “Imagine Europe as a huge apartment where a lot of different people are living separately. Conversely, the US is like one big house with one family living together, while Japan is a much smaller house with just the parents and one kid. There are only a few brands which fit all three markets.”
“European brands tend to be sophisticated and well designed, focusing on one taste level and price point,” Nojima continued. “American brands offer a much wider array of products at different levels, but their core image is sometimes difficult to understand. Because Goldwin stands for attention to detail and product innovation, it tends to fit in wherever we market it.”
