Outdoor Insight

C asey Sheahan wasn't looking for a new gig, but now at the helm of Keen Footwear he's got a plan to take the outdoor brand to the next level. Call it "Business Unusual," which not coincidentally is the footwear brand's new slogan. Sheahan, who joined Portland, OR-based Keen as president in November, has deep roots in the outdoor industry, serving as Patagonia's CEO for eight years and in Kelty Pack's top spot for seven, with additional roles at Merrell and Nike. And, he says, he was enjoying a half-time schedule of boardwork and downtime when an old friend, as they say in heist movies, pulled him back in. "The owner of Keen, Rory Fuerst, invited me to be one of his advisors," Sheahan told Outdoor Insight on a rainy day in his office in the brand's Pearl District headquarters. Keen was one of a handful of board assignments, but Sheahan says he gradually found himself spending more and more time with the 15-year-old brand. "I got pretty quickly involved in the Keen business because it was the most fun." Taking over from retiring president Steve Meineke, the execu- tive has been shaking things up. The brand is putting in place a new organizational structure to put the focus on product categories. Two new hires – initi- ated while Sheahan was on the board – include VP–branded marketing Tyler LaMotte, a Patagonia vet, and John Eberle, who spent years at Nike as well as Rockport and Eagle Creek, as GM of Outdoor, Lifestyle and Kids. And there's more to come. Sheahan says the brand is looking to add three to five more key players. For Spring '18, the first product line that Sheahan had hands on, Keen is celebrating its iconic Newport sandal with new retro Hemp, Tie Die and Eco iterations, as well as introducing a new take on the style with the Evofit One collection, a knit-upper sandal developed in the brand's Innovation Lab. A new iteration of the Uneek woven sandal that also uses the knit debuts for spring, and a splashy event in Tokyo (where the sandal has a cult following) showcased the robot-built process in what the brand called "the world's smallest footwear factory." And while the robots are sexy, retailers say the it's the brand's less-glamorous virtues like reliability and fit, as well as back-end service, that are working at retail. "Keen has been excellent," Frank Gibbons, buyer for the Brattleboro, VT-based Sam's Outdoor Outfitters, says, high- lighting the hike product and Made in America utility boots and shoes as standouts, noting they have made the brand their no.1 in those categories. Gibbons says the product that most directly targets younger shoppers, like Uneek and the women's-specific Terradora lines, haven't made the same splash with his consumers, but that the service and a quiet focus on increasing quality "keep him optimistic." Sheahan says he's bullish as well, and expecting double-digit growth for 2017 even as he plans for the future. "I'm looking for us to have great, great product that meets the needs of that customer. That's number one, and a product engine to support that as a long-term approach," he says. "The other part is getting our brand platform adjusted and right for the times and unique and a voice that's authentically ours, not somebody else's." Here, Sheahan expands on finding a voice, the state of retail and environmentalism in the age of Trump. What are your priorities now that you're on the executive team? "First is to get our product creation engine really humming, to capitalize on this opportunity we have to take the brand into this new paradigm of 'outside.' We've occupied a zone in between pure performance and pure casual that has outdoor flair. When we're connected to outdoor, we're successful, but we have a lot of license to do shoes that are great for hiking, great for scrambling and we can make casual footwear. We want to be inclusive and empowering and encourage people to be a part of just being healthy outside. The brand's at an incredibly good place right now. We have a fan base that loves our comfort and loves the protective nature of the wrapped toe shoes we make. For me, the direction is to bridge from traditional Keen genetics into some newer, fresher collections and styling that will appeal to a slightly younger audience than we have before." How are you planning to drive those priorities? "We're moving from a sourcing-based product structure to KEENEYE New CEO Casey Sheahan wants to run business unusual. 60 • Outdoor Insight • August 2017 outdoorinsightmag.com BRAND PROFILE By Jennifer Ernst Beaudry Photos by Jon Ferrey

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