SEALSKINZ
The Dragon Eye glove and mid- weight sock from Sealskinz
Sealskinz’s eye- catching new marketing
Breeding Sealskinz sales
Hot on the heels of the brand relaunch and 2014 product unveiling at ISPO Munich, Jonathon Harker speaks with Sealskinz marketing manager David Richards on a tidier range, how the British military inspired the new brand philosophy and avoiding soggy socks whatever the weather throws at you…
How was the launch at ISPO? ISPO was great. As I’m sure your readers will appreciate, outdoor along with bike are our two key markets, and ISPO is one of the largest outdoor shows in the world. We had excellent feedback on the new
branding, the story and most importantly the new packaging and products.
Can you give us a recap of the brand relaunch for those who may have missed it? Sealskinz has existed as the waterproof sock, hat and glove brand for 15 years. We have experienced steady growth over this period and gathered a very loyal fan base. That said, we have big plans and as such one of the big things needed to drive this forwards was a review of the company and our customers, both in the trade and also end user consumers. This research lead us to the new branding. We have shifted the look and feel of the
brand, and also addressed the muddled language in which we communicated. Possibly most significantly is our shift from simply focusing on waterproof products, to endurance accessories. In essence, Sealskinz promotes endurance through the application of dry comfort and durability to enable you to go further, go longer, leave first and return last. Our aim is to be the leader in multi-weather multi-terrain endurance accessories.
What was the thinking behind the new philosophy of endurance accessories and outdoor defiance? One of the greatest exponents of our product over the last few years has been the British military. It was their warrior ethos that got us thinking about endurance and defying the outdoors. Given we are a proud British company and being so aware of the weather, our ability to produce a range of products to enable everybody to get out into the great outdoors
BIKEBIZ.COM
and defy the elements was one we felt comfortable with. Endurance is borne out of performance and we are very focused on producing functional products which enable the user to go faster and go further. Whether that be to knock a second of their best Strava time or head out on that multiday epic trip they’ve always been planning.
Can you explain the thinking behind Aqua Dynamic Design? In essence Aqua Dynamic Design is a principle with which we develop our range. It is all about moisture management, both stopping rain getting in, but equally enabling sweat to get out, thus ensuring the user is comfortable and dry. We refer to this as next to skin dry comfort and this is helped by our patented ADD StretchDry technology found in our market leading socks and Ultra Grip Gloves. Take a waterproof jacket as an example, there is minimal stretch in this due to the membrane. Where our ADD StretchDry technology sets
us apart is it allows us to take three layers (the middle of which is a hydrophilic membrane) and make a product with stretch. What this allows us to do is to make socks and gloves which fit close to the skin and ensure sweat is drawn from the skin and passed through the lining ensuring dry comfort.
What new technology and products have you got lined up for 2014/15? We have really tidied up the range this year and a lot of work has gone into understanding our end user groups. As such we have a range of socks, gloves and hats aimed squarely at ensuring your customers get products to enable them to ride out whatever the weather. We have introduced a number of new technologies across our range, the highlights of which are Anti-Slip and Touchscreen Friendly. Touchscreen friendly technology is nothing new, but this is
David Richards, marketing manager for Sealskinz
“We hope the
range will help you keep your customers engaged in cycling 12 months of the year.”
something we are now incorporating on a range of our cycle gloves enabling you to text, call, take photos or – more importantly – check your Strava segments! Anti-Slip is something we have been working hard on and in essence it serves two purposes, firstly to virtually eliminate that most annoying of inconveniences, liner pull out, meaning taking your glove off at the top of a trail or at a stop, doesn’t have to be a struggle. Secondly and possibly most impressively, it removes the feeling of play between layers. So from a cycle perspective it feels almost identical to wearing a single layer glove and means your hold on the bars and control over the bars is much improved. Our best selling All-Weather Cycle Glove has both of these technologies incorporated and with improved design is a product we are confident will continue to go from strength-to- strength. For the commuter market where riders don’t necessarily need the additional padding of a cycle specific glove, we have a couple of new gloves which we believe will suit the commuter down to the ground. Our all-new Dragon Eye Glove features a synthetic palm, touchscreen friendly index fingertip and anti-slip as well as being 100 per cent waterproof and breathable. Initial feedback from user testing has been extremely positive, so again we are really optimistic this product will prove a success within the bike industry.
Have you any messages for the trade? What the recent weather has shown us is that the great British public are just as keen to get out and stay out in the rain as they are when the sun is shining. As such we really hope the Sealskinz range will enable you to keep your customers engaged in cycling 12 months of the year and help us to continue the growth of cycling for years to come. 01553 817990
BIKEBIZ MARCH 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92