For years Scarpa and Black Diamond were virtually interchangeable and both brands were competing for the number one spot in their respective categories climbing equipment and skis for Black Diamond; Telemark and AT ski boots for Scarpa. However at OR Summer Market, the two brands announced that they would separate. At the initial time of the announcement Scarpa management stated that, for the most part, the product lines will be the same, but under this new management there will be greater emphasis placed on the hiking, mountaineering, and trail running categories. The company will still specialize in rock shoes and ski boots, but both the Italian management and the new North American management hope that they can effectively leverage their authenticity in climbing and skiing to address the broader, and more lucrative, hiking market.
This plan was formulated before the full management team was in place. Scarpa Italy had already hired Chris Clark to head sales and marketing and appointed Andrea Parisotto as the new president, but there was only the shell of a sales force and no CEO, Customer service or fulfillment in place. Today, all of that has changed, and the company has refined its mission statement to become clearer and more targeted. Kim Miller, former Black Diamond Mountain Brand Manager, which included SCARPA distribution in North America, is now CEO of Scarpa N.A. The company has also finalized its North American sales force.
BOSS sat down with Mr. Miller for a lengthy conversation about the brand and its future direction in the North American Market. The energy he brings to the brand is clear, and he likens the challenge of renewing its North American presence to remodeling an old house. “We want to keep the basic framework, but we also want to turn it into something new and more modern,” he said.
A lifetime climber and childhood friend of Black Diamonds CEO, Peter Metcalf, Miller appreciates the help and assistance that Black Diamond has provided during this transition.
“Sure it would have been nice to have a CEO in place from the get-go, but the way things panned out, this was the best way to start the move. Now, everything is going amazingly well. The help from Black Diamond has really helped to make the transition as seamless as possible and we are all in agreement with the reasons for the change,” he said. “Ive had conversations concerning the telemark boot market, and we are in a very unique position with only three brands in the market. Certainly, we compete against each other but we are also responsible for the direction of the sport and we all realize that.”
Miller said that the next step for Scarpa N.A. is to “go live” and begin building, selling and shipping products. The company is using a third party distributor to handle warehousing, shipping and logistics so that they will be free to focus on sales marketing and building the image of the brand as an independent entity. Eventually, Miller would like to bring the logistics operations in house, but he feels that this is the best option for the brands at this time. With the sales force in place, an independent booth, and most of the management structure finalized, OR Winter Market will be the first time the Scarpa brand will have the opportunity to stand on its own two feet in the U.S. market.
The Next Challenge that Miller and the Scarpa team are preparing for is Spring/Summer 06 and beyond. Scarpas Italian parent company is acutely aware of the differences between the U.S. and European markets. In many of the Alpine countries big leather hiking boots are still the mainstay, whereas the N.A. trail running footwear has become the bread and butter for most retailers. Scarpa Italy is completely willing to make the investment into product development to support both markets and will avoid designing one-off products to address the global market. While the line will be expanding, Miller said that he will keep it “fairly tight” and “fairly technical.”
Scarpa will be placing more energy into their rock shoe line for the coming season and even though the company has been able to lower prices following the split with BDE, Miller is quick to emphasize that they will not be competing in the lower end of the market. “There is no doubt that Asian made rock shoes changed the market dynamics forever,” he said. “Sportiva has weathered that storm in great style they finessed better prices, but maintained the high-quality message. I still think that consumers realize that there is a difference in craftsmanship, just like they realize there is a difference between an Audi and a Hyundai.”
The biggest new addition to Scarpas Spring/Summer line will be lifestyle footwear. Miller said that while it is tempting to expand the line and see what works, he has decided to show some discipline and not simply “regurgitate euro-footwear.” While Scarpa will sell some lifestyle product in Summer 07, it will still predominantly be a technical-oriented brand.
Millers primary responsibility at the moment is to continue the process of getting the subsidiary up-and-running. He is now in the tail end of this process and next on his to-do list is finalizing North Americas product development plan. For the first time the brand will have a N.A.-specific plan that will look several years ahead. Part of this is figuring out what products Scarpa needs and hitting niches that customers want, but a bigger part is figuring out how to do it. Overall, the company has three main goals to accomplish this year. First, Scarpa will become fully operational in the North American market. Second, Scarpa will focus marketing and advertising on the product under its own, independent banner. And last Miller will complete a comprehensive product development plan for this market.
