Vaude will be launching a new footwear line that will be backed by a specially devised custom-fitting shoe design. The company has brought together a new team that been working on the line for two years. VAUDE product manager Marco Lachner and his orthopaedic footwear team led by Andreas Bornmann and Torsten Schröder will be presenting the line at OutDoor in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

Vaude has also staffed the footwear sales department with Uwe Bertram, a veteran sales expert whose previous work was in field and key account sales in Nike’s Footwear segment.
With their new shoe program, to be unveiled this July during the OutDoor 2007 trade fair, Vaude is pursuing their brand strategy and so finalizing the last step towards their being a complete outfitter.

Marco Lachner explains their work: “We’ve invested a great deal of time and energy in researching the anatomy of the foot as well as the complex process of movement, and filed long enough on our design to have reached a perfect fit. Innovative biomechanical elements are combined in a fashionable technical design that will bring a fresh, new wind to the shoe department of sporting goods stores. We’re looking forward to this market challenge”.

Entering Vaude for the pre-order start on June 1, in the position of sales manager for the shoe product segment is Uwe Bertram, with 13 years of sales experience in the Footwear segment at Nike, he was responsible for the key accounts of major purchasing associations in Germany such as Intersport or Sport 2000, and leading German department stores such as Kaufhof or Sportarena. Before that he worked as field representative for Nike Footwear.

Uwe Bertram is enthusiastic about his new undertaking: “Vaude represents a brilliant vision and an enormous potential in the shoe segment that really appeals to me.”

Vaude has taken onboard renowned experts for Technology & Development with Andreas Bornmann, orthopaedic master shoemaker, and Torsten Schröder, graduate in sports science. Their many years of experience in the micro-motion study of athletes in different disciplines, and their know-how in orthopaedics, biomechanics and shoe craftsmanship have given shape to Vaude’s new shoe collection. Vaude’s Trek & Trail shoe collection comprises 20 different shoe models, each available in three different colour combinations. The collection includes traditionally crafted, lightweight hiking boots for mountain and leisure walking tours with the family, multi-functional cross-over shoes in a lifestyle-oriented design, and rugged, all-terrain outdoor sandals.