Footwear Insight

44 • Footwear Insight ~ November/December 2017 footwearinsight.com Making Strides PROFILE By Mark Sullivan S ix months ago when Vida Shoes signed a licensing agree- ment with Wolverine Worldwide for global rights to the Stride Rite brand, it was a homecoming for the company's EVP Brian McManus. "I worked there when I was 19," says McManus. "Stride Rite put me through college and helped start my career." Now in his 18th year with Vida, McManus and his team are working to position Stride Rite in today's retail marketplace. The Stride Rite brand will turn 100 next year and is arguably the most established name in kid's foot- wear. But that history may not mean much to today's millennial moms, who are oriented to modern megabrands and more likely to shop online than new parents of even ten years ago. "We intend to engage the millennial mom in a more emotional and mean- ingful way," McManus tells Footwear Insight. "That means everything from what the brand aesthetic is to creating a trend-right product, to understanding the methodology of her shopping with the goal of increasing the demand for the brand, both in-store and online." Retailers who carry the brand will be doing so in a "less promotional" environment. Prior to signing the agreement with Vida, Stride Rite's parent Wolverine began closing down its corporate outlet stores. Today, the only Stride Rite stores that exist are 39 licensed stores, which are independently owned and figure promi- nently in Vida's go-forward strategy. "These 'brand partners' are the heart and soul of the brand as they give par- ents the full Stride Rite experience," McManus says. "This is where the emo- tional bond between the brand and the consumer is initially formed." Mark Gordon owns two children's footwear stores outside of Philadelphia and has been a kid's retailer for 37 years, 29 of them as a Stride Rite retailer. Since Stride Rite began closing its corporate stores two years ago, "business is better because there is less competition." He says Vida understands that you can't sell premium product at discount prices and will support stores like his that offer quality, selection and service. The Stride Rite brand will be sold in other channels, McManus says, but "we'll be premium priced wherever we are. We believe in a good, better, best distribution strategy and the ultimate success for the brand is seeing growth at all levels." Vida Has Big Plans for its Newest Kid's Brand. "This is where the emotional bond between the brand and the consumer is initially formed." Brian McManus, EVP

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