1884 Canvas Patchwork Clog
Amberes 1956 black bronze SRP £125 Q&A
Q: How do you reach out to consumers and ensure that your brand remains relevant and appealing in this tough climate? Jorge Hernandez: Innovation is the foundation of our development. And if you look at the comfort, quality, price ratio and the support that Art provides its retailers, you will see why many buyers list us as one of their favourite footwear brands. Consumers love the styling, the comfort and the quality of our shoes, and they love to share their experience with their friends as well. Art has many customers who return for a second colour of the same product. Our retailers tell us that their customers also tend to shop very early in the season and of course we are able to support this by delivering early in the season too. This is why Art is very often one of the top performing brands in Q1 and Q3 as consumers go looking for new styles. Then we’re also able to support those retailers with repeats in-season, which drives up the sell- through percentage.
Q: Tell us about some of your latest product ranges. JH: Clearly, innovation is key when designing new product and there is no better place to start than comfort. ART’s MOVE ME system improves shoe flexibility, increasing comfort and reducing fatigue for the wearer. This technology is based on the shape of the sole; our design places deep grooves in the flex point allowing it to bend more easily when walking. We use this in trainers, sandals, boots and even high platform sole units.
Q: Do you have any new product launches coming soon that we should look out for? JH:The design team are always pushing the boundaries of footwear design, comfort and aesthetics with innovative creations. Winter 2025 will see some new products come out in celebration of our 30th anniversary, and the first time retailers will be able to see these will be at the Footwear Today Live show in February!
Q: How are you celebrating and marking your 30th anniversary? JH: We have many new initiatives coming in 2025 to support this incredible milestone. We’ll start in
Spring when we’re bringing back an iconic clog from around the turn of the Millennium; for this we have combined the old style upper with an extremely modern sole unit from our MOVE ME comfort system. Retailers have loved this product over the years as it rekindles memories of their younger years, but then their younger staff or teenage children have never seen the clog before and have been fascinated by it! However, this clog will be a limited edition so retailers should be quick to get their orders in!
Winter 2025 will see the big initiatives to support our 30th anniversary with new lines of boots and shoes coming out too.
Q: Tell us about the history of ART, how it all began and how the brand has developed and changed over the past 30 years? JH: The ART Company was born in 1995 – created with an ethos that was deliberately young, happy and carefree – but our experience in the world of quality footwear started 30 years before that. The brand started in Quel near Arnedo in Northern Spain which is a huge shoe making area in the La Rioja region. The Founder, Ignacio Sota, is now 74 and you will still find him in the factory every day taking care of production! His son, Patxi, is in charge of product design; he manages a large dedicated team of footwear designers, engineers and artists who come together to create our fabulous new styles.
ART has passed through various stages over the years, all the while still realising our dreams along the way. Since the very beginning, ART boots were a phenomenal success with young non-conformist people within the markets we entered; this was especially relevant in Spain, France, Italy, Holland, Germany and the UK.
Q: What does the future hold for ART Company? JH: The future is looking good… we will keep working on this design direction and keeping our DNA with a commercial touch. We are widening our consumer base as more retailers are adding ART and benefitting from having ART in their brand mix. We have been watching the trend of knee-length boots and have enjoyed some great success over the last two Winters, but this year has seen a significant jump in sales and repeats – especially when you provide a flexible calf width – and we are going to grow this area for Winter 2025. We know who we are. Our roots have made us very strong and they allow us to grow and appeal to many different types of consumers and retailers. The best place to view the Autumn 2025 collection will be at the Footwear Today Live show on 2 and 3 February as we have more samples and more colourways on show!
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