WORKWEAR
THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR
WORKIN’
Oliver Stanley talks to Overland Shoes about the importance of the right POS resources.
B
obcat Safety Footwear has introduced a new range of impactful point-of- sale display boards designed to help merchants and distributors drive awareness and sales across its expanding safety footwear portfolio.
Designed to draw the eye, the new displays capture the bold, iconic identity of the Bobcat brand, as Peter Lawson brand manager at Overland Shoes, says: “Bobcat is a new brand to the UK marketplace, and when you set out on a process of launching a new brand, one of the key challenges is building brand awareness in the marketplace.
“Overland Shoes is a UK licensing business, with a long history in footwear, whereas safety footwear is a new category for us. The concept for Bobcat came along as an opportunity to develop a meaningful brand with points of difference and something new. “We have some brand awareness within the sector through Bobcat’s experience with machinery and equipment, the Bobcat name is very well known, and is recognisable by its cat’s head logo, which is a very specific branding device.
“We have developed a brand that’s consistent with the positioning and imagery of the compact equipment people already know. “In terms of our brand launch strategy for the UK, we highlighted the need to develop point of sale materials and distribution points to build the visual recognition of the brand.
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The UK marketplace is highly competitive for safety footwear, so the use of POS is fundamental to starting to build that brand awareness.”
Combining impactful visuals with clear product information, each display board showcases up to five footwear styles from the range, spanning 27 SKUs with safety ratings from S3 to S7.
“We have a number of point of sales items which we offer to dealers as part of their commitment to stocking the bobcat branding at a point of retail” Lawson continues. “These include a freestanding display unit which stand alone and house five shoes, a back header and back branding.
“We also offer branded shelf talker, header cards, and backdrops for a slat wall system, which can clearly identify panels of our products. This ensures we have a distinctive branded area within store.”
The new POS initiative forms part of a broader support package available to stockists including branded packaging and a suite of marketing materials, such as product brochures and leaflets. Merchants can also benefit from bespoke support and in-branch product demonstrations for both staff and customers, delivered remotely via phone or video, or through pre-arranged site visits. Lawson adds; “We also have an integrated marketing program which uses a widespread
merchant PR activity program, and we will develop that into an installer program where we appeal to end users as the second phase of that push. It’s a multi sector approach to launching the brand.”
The company has also implemented a hard-hitting national promotional campaign targeted at professional builders, installers and contractors, focused on driving trade buyers to builders’ merchants.
Lawson explains: “From a merchant point of view, we will then launch an advertising campaign through trade press to start to build brand awareness, including marking campaigns which advertise the key aspects of the brand.
“We also have a four-person sales team which is tasked with the introduction of the brand, the selling of the introductive materials, and all the support activity that we’re putting behind the brand. We set up face to face meetings with potential customers. “We offer staff training to support the products that are going into stores, and we talk to staff in stores about the brand, to improve staff knowledge of Bobcat safety wear. We have to build that product knowledge, we have to build an enthusiasm, we have to build commitment from them. And very often, make incentives for them to sell Bobcat shoes, such as trial shoes the staff could try on and wear in store to visually demonstrate, and hopefully positively demonstrate their use of that product to customers.”
In addition, the new Bobcat Safety Footwear website provides easy-to-access support tools, including a detailed overview of each product, along with full technical specifications, as well as a ‘become a stockist’ section. “One of the interesting facets for builders’ merchants is that the PPE workwear and footwear marketplace offers them enhanced margins to sell these products,” Lawson adds. “Those are typically smaller margins in their business, so where they can offer footwear, these margins are enhanced. We find that a lot of merchants are very interested in this sector because every person going through a yard is wearing safety footwear. Personal protection is very important for obvious reasons. And indeed, is legislated in most industries these days. “We are also re-launching Dickies Safety Footwear, a very well-known brand we obtained a license for, which has been out of the market in the UK for a number of years now. We are developing a complete line of footwear for men and women under the Dickies brand. Safety footwear is a real focus for the business right now and will continue to be for many years to come.” BMJ
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net August 2026
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