On June 13, New England Footwear LLC closed a deal to acquire the GoLite footwear business from Timberland. Douglas Clark, who was previously VP of Timberlands Invention Factory, formed Portsmouth, NH-based New England Footwear two weeks prior to the deal. He is now the president and “visionary” of New England Footwear, and has assumed functional responsibility of the product line as well as personal oversight of all product development.
Although financial terms of the deal were unavailable, the transaction does not include ownership of the GoLite brand-Timberland will retain the trademark. In April, Timberland shuttered its Miôn and GoLite footwear lines in a reversal of its multi-branded outdoor specialty strategy launched three years earlier. The decision, which resulted in the termination of a number of executive and staff positions, was made after efforts to sell the brands failed. Investors interested in the GoLite brand reportedly backed off after Timberland disclosed it would not sell them an exclusive right to use the technology that went into the shoes unique sole.
Clark has hired Tom Montgomery as COO to handle sourcing at New England Footwear. Montgomery previously served as SVP of sourcing at Stride Rite, and his experience includes stints as SVP of sourcing at Kenneth Cole, and VP of sourcing at Timberland. Matt King, a 13-year veteran of Peregrine Outfitters, has joined the company to run sales and marketing; and Steve Opie, who has worked with brands including Stride Rite, Converse and Nike, will offer design direction.
“The thing I want people to understand is that were not going to just continue what was happening,” says Clark. “I want to get back to introducing this innovation. To me, the GoLite platform has a tremendous amount of potential not only for trail running shoes, but for any activity performed on uneven terrain. We would like to reposition this brand to be an OUTDOOR athletic brand-outdoor in capital letters and athletic in lowercase. We see this brand quickly extending into the categories of fast-packing, hiking, trekking and hybrid shoes.”
Distribution of GoLite footwear will be an extension of what Timberland had already started, and Clark intends to continue sharing merchandising direction and color palettes with GoLite founder and apparel and equipment maven Demetri Coupounas.
“Wherever possible, I would like both businesses to show up as one brand,” says Clark. “There will be a lot of overlap with where GoLite apparel shows up, and there will be a focus on the outdoor specialty market-independents in particular. Weve got to see where it goes. Im a big believer that the independent channel is the one I want to tap into, which means that if we start in outdoor specialty shops, I could see us ending up in independent sporting goods, where appropriate. I could also see us in independent shoe stores (where you see a lot of Merrells and Keens), and the day may come when were talking about the bigger sporting goods players, but not on day one.”
Internationally, a small portion of GoLite footwear is being sold in Europe and Asia, but the plan now is to focus on the U.S. market.
“I want to focus on North America and do it right,” says Clark. “If there is an account that has gotten a little bit of traction in Europe or Asia, Ill probably try to maintain it, but the expectation is not to focus on expanding international distribution until Ive really got my act together in the U.S.”
In the next two or three years, Clarks expects GoLite footwear to become a core outdoor brand. “Our platform is distinct, relevant, and it works,” he says. “With the right merchandising and development approach, and with being smart about our distribution and pricing, I think we can be in the same league as all of the Asolos, Montrails, Tecnicas and Lowas that you see out there.”
At present, Clark is putting the finishing touches on new GoLite footwear styles that will be launched at the upcoming Outdoor Retailer Summer Market show, and will be available in early 2009. The line, which is very tight, consists of 10 to 11 models including new and carryover styles. The collection is now about 65 percent mens and 35 percent womens, but over time, womens offerings will be expanded. The centerpiece of the line is a new lightweight hiker.
“We are developing a hiker that will make people look twice,” exclaims Clark. “It will be one of the industrys first 12-ounce hikers that compromises absolutely nothing in the way of performance. We think leveraging our soft against the ground platform and leveraging our molded upper constructions allows us to get a significant amount of weight out of our boots.”
In terms of pricing, Clark wants to make the brand more accessible to consumers. Although retail price points now range from $100 to $180, the goal is to make the heart and soul of the line between $85 and $125.
“Im planning on being tight and Im trying to make this collection [focused] on solving problems, not chasing fashion,” says Clark. “I think if we do our job right, we can create a sustainable business with shoes that become almost classic to the GoLite brand, and not just seasonal wonders that appear for a season or two. My goal is sustainability through solving problems in a way that lasts and is timeless.”
To support its new effort, New England Footwear will rely on grassroots marketing, and intends to make the GoLite brand highly visible at ORSM. “Ive been thinking about how our Web material and point-of-sale stuff can tell our story, and were going to do that with a lot of digital animation and video, and point-of-sale thats very functional,” explains Clark. He also notes that down the road, he will “maintain a website for GoLite footwear and create a website for New England Footwear. Those will link back to each other and I do have expectations that in six months to a year [consumers will] be able to purchase online.”
While Clark certainly has his hands full with GoLite footwear, he has no intention of stopping there. Growth plans for New England Footwear call for acquisitions over the next few years.
“The reason that this is called New England Footwear and not GoLite footwear is because we have a strategy that says we will build a portfolio of brands over the course of time,” says Clark. “We are essentially an incubator of new ideas. We are going to do this through acquisition of very young ideas and technologies, and through the incubation of our own. We do expect to not only play in the outdoor space the way that GoLite plays, were also going to look at playing in the wellness space in the next year or year-and-a-half.”
Obviously, its hard to predict just how the enterprise will unfold, but New England Footwears plans call for building up to three or four brands, and then deciding whether to roll those brands over.
“Its clear to me that big companies really have to take care of public shareholders, and often can have a hard time justifying the often disproportionate expense of starting something from nothing as you wait for it to become profitable,” explains Clark. “I think I have the skill to start something from nothing, build it up, make it successful, and then bigger strategic buyers might find some of those ideas that Ive got interesting.”
Overall, says Clark, “Im focused on all the great things that this brand and this platform and this year in the market have shown us. I want to take whats working and amplify it, and I want to figure out what isnt working and fix it. The only thing that can get in my way is the capacity to do all the things that are in my head.” He adds, “The job of New England Footwear is to become an incubator of innovative, break-through footwear ideas that are powerful enough to be the basis of new brands and not just of technology.”
