Drop It Like It's Hot - Or What The Sneaker Hustle Could Teach Watch Town

As a Man of Oregon, I am fairly certain that agents of Uncle Phil (Phil Knight, and a lot of us who attended the U and benefitted from the donations made by Mr. Knight and his wife Penny always refer to them as Uncle Phil and Aunt Penny), probably put something in the water in Eugene that mysteriously altered my DNA to desire more pairs of Nikes than I will ever be able to wear. 

To this day, at the tender age of 52, I check the Nike Sneaker app more frequently than the international news... and I check the international news an awful lot.

One of the really cool things about the business of sneaker launches is the concept of the "drop".  The drop is not unlike a watch release, but in truth it is far more democratic, and tends to garner a LOT MORE interest and enthusiasm. The word spreads through several different mediums - Instagram, Facebook (less and less these days) not to mention the big dogs - High Snobiety, Sneaker News and Nice Kicks among others. But beneath these obvious layers where I suspect a LOT of dollars flow from Beaverton (Nike), Portland (Adidas), Boston (Puma and Reebok) to keep relationships nice, there is the sub culture. And the denizens of the sneaker subculture are more and more becoming the drivers of FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out.

Now the word influencer and ambassador gets, if I am honest, misappropriated and is greatly misunderstood. There is a misplaced belief in Watch Town that a poorly worded article bordering on what Google Translate would spit out that flashes for 5 minutes in the top section of Outlet X (which boasts a readership larger than that of most fashion blogs, excuse me while I die laughing, but I guess it's true if you count all of the click farms) that the brand paid anywhere from $500 - $1,000 for will reach more people than one thoughtful, sincere article written by a "true believer" as opposed to a gun for hire. 

Editors note - yes, as an English teacher I am very aware the preceding was a run-on sentence to end all run-on sentences.  

And this is where the sneaker world takes a different view. 

Now in Watch Town, these folks are often (and  rather uncharitably) referred to as "Fan Boys". But as I mentioned, the world of sneakers takes a different approach.  Rather than spurn these people, there are cadres of folks in Beaverton, Portland, Boston and elsewhere who have ONE brief in their job description - FIND EVANGELISTS! And really, that seems to be something that Watch Town could truly benefit from.

Trying to "court" those of us in the Fourth and Fifth Estate using the current approach of paying Outlet X, Y and Z to run your release, then sending the same release 72 hours later to everyone else is a losing proposition. Because not unlike the working men and women plying their trade down at the Port Authority, $20 dollars is the hourly rate (not including the cost of a hotel room should you want some privacy), and it in no way, shape or form means that you have an actual relationship. One recent example I can think of is Brand A who sent out a press release written by outlet X along with "sweeteners" to the other large sites and got huge coverage for their announcement.  Curious to relate?  They sent another release through the tubes about a month or so later and got... bupkis   I guess true love is only true if the check clears.

Now I've heard (in not so gentle tones, sometimes offered with a veiled threat) from some of the Pay-to-Date writers that I am naive. Well, maybe, but even if I was born yesterday, I stayed up all night and I am fairly confident that the actual payoff gained from the payola formula is not nearly what those plying the pay-to-play journalism model would have the brands believe. 

Shamelessly borrowed from the world-wide infoweb

But let's get back to the evangelist model.

Let's be real for a few minutes - Rolex, Patek and Cartier do not need ambassadors. They are known pretty much at every level.

But when we look at other very worthy brands that can't seem to gain sustained traction, despite tens of thousands of dollars wired to the bank accounts of Outlets X, Y and Z and no small number of product placements with the athlete, actor, singer, "influencer" du jour?  These are the brands that should actually start reaching out and identifying their ambassadors. It's a lot less expensive, and it guarantees honest, sincere promotion from a true fan, a true believer.  More and more, I actually really like the idea of brand ambassador or brand evangelist. And truthfully, I don't think there is anything wrong with that person getting the odd freebie, getting invited on the next factory tour, or being recognized by the brand as a REAL friend of the brand.  

Watch Town has now really become more and more a locale for transients. People drift in and out depending on whether or not silver has crossed their palms. And what used to unify Watch Town, the annual shows and fairs? They are changing and losing their importance to retailers and (if I am honest) to journalists. Watch releases are now dropping all year long - not unlike sneakers. So the question becomes, how do you stimulate the same level of enthusiasm for the latest Omega James Bond model (I mean, honestly?  How many of these things can they shit out?) as the next pair of Air Jordans? I have yet to see people lined up in sleeping bags and lawn chairs to even get the latest SWATCH release, although maybe the Keith Haring / Disney mash-up will start a new trend. 

No, I don't expect to see corporate lawyers, neurosurgeons and investment bankers lining up in front of Tourneau or Watches of Switzerland for the latest drop, but I also don't see nearly the level of enthusiasm that there used to be when Simon Cudd spread the word about the latest release that was coming.

Like I said - I may have been born yesterday, but I stayed up all night.

What I'd Buy Myself - Part 3

As we continue with the Tempus Fugit "Anti-Holiday Gift Guide" format, another thing I would buy myself (and spoiler alert - I already did!), would be a pair of the new ilmia sneakers.

As I have said previously, I am a long-term fan of ilmia.  I know the CEO, he's a nice guy, and I think that the ilmia sneaker is something really special.  

What ilmia is offering is certainly something different - sneakers made by hand, in Europe, one pair at a time.  And as a child of Nike (and previously Adidas) I can tell you that there is indeed something to be said for consistency.  ilmia does not give you thousands of choices.  You can have two slightly different flavors of white, or black, or if you're particularly daring?  Brown.

Courtesy of ilmia

Not unlike the Adidas Rom or the Puma Roma, or the Nike Cortez, this is a fairly straight-forward, every day sneaker. 

I like ilmia for a LOT of reasons.  It is not flashy, it is not screaming for your attention.  You will note that you do not have to go and get an ilmia app so that you can be aware of the next "drop".  Simply put?  They've dropped!  You don't have to panic, or suffer through an unseemly case of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).  You don't have to camp out in front of your favorite outlet overnight, in the cold, to purchase them.  There are no "signature" models... 

Okay, I take that back.  There is ONE signature model that I am aware of ; )

Now ultimately, ilmia is not for everyone.  And as my Mee-Maw used to say - "that's what makes a horse race".  

But, if you are not one to necessarily follow the crowd, and you want to treat your feet to something special?  I highly recommend them!

It's Gotta Be The Shoes! The Feel-Good, Triumphant Return of ilmia!

     Christian Gafner, Co-founder / CEO (is the handsome one on the left)

I am a sneaker-head.  There, I've said it.  It would be easy to assume that this the result of my time at the University of Oregon where Nike was in many ways born and raised.  But in fact it goes deeper.  Picture a small college town in northern Ohio back 1976.  Students coming to town from all over the country, and in fact the world.  And with the students came some worldly classmates at Prospect elementary school, who actually VISITED England, France... even Germany!  The rest of us wore Keds, or if we were really cool (which I was definitively, NOT) you might have Converse.  These kids came back wearing Adidas and Puma sneakers.  And not shoes made of canvas, but actual leather!  

As reported in an earlier Tempus Fugit missive, I begged Santa Clause (i.e. Mom and Dad) for a pair of leather Adidas.  There were a few small obstacles standing between me and Christmas happiness:
  
1.  While some kids in Oberlin had Adidas shoes on their feet, no retail stores within hailing distance sold them.

2.  The stores that sold them were so far away that you had heard of these cities on the local news, but they might as well have been in East Germany.  The roads that connected my small hometown and the metro Cleveland area were not, shall we say, advanced or well coordinated.

3.  I had what were considered at that time, seriously undersized feet for my age.  Meaning that while Adidas and Puma might make shoes in my size, those were not the sizes that specialty sports stores in Northern Ohio (or really anywhere else in the US) would likely be ordering for their stores.

Spoiler alert - somehow (hand to God, to this day I don't know exactly how), Mom came through and under the tree were a pair of size 1 Adidas Cadets. 

Shamelessly borrowed from the worldwide info web

I wore those shoes until they literally fell off of my then 9 year old feet.  And I have been devoted to sneakers ever since, but in all honesty, I had not had that same visceral, Christmas morning thrill until many, many years later when I first met Christian Gafner and bought a couple of pairs of ilmias back in 2013.  

Curious to relate, just like that 8 year old kid in Ohio, there was a whole country of kids (East Germany) young and old who loved and wanted sneakers.  And ilmia was the brand.  The Berlin Wall came down, Germany was re-unified, and ilmia tucked in for a long nap that would have been the envy of sleeping beauty, until they were awoken by a few princes, and a princess.

Which brings us nearly up-to date.  I started coming to BaselWorld as a journalist in 2011.
At the time, ilmias were a well-kept secret, and had I not seen them featured at the ochs und junior shop in Lucerne I would not have known about them.  And that is when I first met Christian and put my money on the table and put a pair of ilmias on my feet.

For those of you not aware, Christian is the designer behind the first MIH watch -

Courtesy of Embassy & MIH

He also has done design work for Eterna and Porsche Design among others.  But these days he is firmly behind the re-boot of ilmia.

So one week ago, I found myself fresh off the train from Zurich to meet him and see the new batch. And so to one of my "other offices", Caffè Spettacolo just opposite the Biel/Bienne train station, where I got to see what is up next for ilmia.  And a friendly travel tip from your old pal Henki - next time you're in-between connections at the Biel/Bienne station, or you need an easy to find rally point?  I highly recommend the Caffè Spettacolo.

And I got the hook-up, and put my marker down for a pair of "samples". 

And as any good sneaker-head would, I got my pair signed -

1 / INFINITY.  I like that ; )

And while I got a chance to look at the new, I also got a brief re-wind through the old -

Have no doubt, ilmia made some serious athletic shoes back in the day.

And if you were a kid on what we used to think of as the "wrong side" of the Berlin Wall, and you couldn't get your hands on the Adidas Rom or the Puma Roma?  ilmia had you covered -

Now I can't speak to how the "old school" ilmia kicks fit and feel, but my pair fits well, super soft and comfy.  And to quote the youngsters hanging out at Bodega in Boston, they are:

"So drip!"

Per the Urban Dictionary:
Drip

adjective to describe your outfit similar to swag, sauce, steez, swank

dripmane - "mane my outfit is dripping right now"

by splashtonkutcher October 08, 2018

Biel/Bienne was my first stop on an horological wander that took me Switzerland and France.  The story starts with -

A Love Letter to Besançon - part 1

Stay tuned!

Summer Repeat - It's Gotta' Be The Shoes!

This originally aired several years ago.  I had the very good fortune to meet the owner of ilmia (who also happened to be the designer of the MIH watch) and buy a pair of his sneakers.  I later bought two more pairs.  

The world needs more Christian Gafners.  The world needs more romantics, more people willing to put themselves out there.  It does not need more cynical celebrity (or Outlet X chasing) brownie hounds who prostitute themselves for a quick gain.  

I don't claim to know him well, but I can say that the one quality that comes through in truckloads is sincerity.  His focus and passion for ilmia is inspirational, on a par with Phil Night traveling to Japan to try and launch Blue Ribbon, which went on to become Nike so many years later.

The world needs more dreamers - and let's hope that this is a dream that will again become a reality.  Here's to Christian, and here's to ilmia.

And now -

It's Gotta be the Shoes... and the Watch Designer!

I was the ORIGINAL sneaker nut! When I was a (younger) Northern Youth, my friends and I became obsessed by Puma, Converse and most clearly - Adidas! And to all of you "millennials" out there, this was 1976/1977 Northern Ohio - Nike was not what it is today!

So I became obsessed with getting a REAL pair of GENUINE, MADE IN EUROPE Adidas shoes. There were two small drawbacks:

1. I had a kid's size 3.5 - which meant Buster Browns or Keds, but no Adidas available in our exotic location for such small feet.

2. Being all of 8 years old, pocket money would not nearly cover such a lavish expense as $30 - $40!

So enter my mother - who secretly scoured most of Northern Ohio to find a pair of Adidas Cadet shoes in my size, and they were under the Christmas tree! MAN - I LOVED THEM! They were white leather, with red and blue stripes. Made in France - which to my way of thinking might as well have been the moon! I wore them EVERYWHERE! In the snow, in the rain, in the mud - always taking great care to clean them up after.

Years later when I worked at Tourneau, customers would often state that the high end watch they were going to buy was an investment. I would say - yes and no. It is an emotional investment for sure, and if you keep it on that level you will never be disappointed. That very small pair of Adidas Cadets was for my mother an emotional investment in me.

And now, I am older. I see things a bit more cynically. But last year while visiting the oxen space in Lucerne, I felt the first stirrings of youthful enthusiasm for sneakers again -

Courtesy of Ilmia

This the ilmia in white. A lot like the Model T, you can have it in any color you like, as long as it's white, black or brown ; ) And I like that!

Courtesy of ilmia 

I know what you're thinking - so "OLD FASHIONED"...
YES - thank goodness! There is something in all of us that wants the original - not an "homage", but the real deal, or as close as you can come. So it took a man with a bit of vision to bring back this classic.

Courtesy of ilmia  

WAIT - what has this got to do with watches??!?
I'm glad you asked!

Courtesy of ilmia  

This is Christian - watch designer formerly of Porsche Design. And here is the rest of the story courtesy of ilmia -

2004, Swiss industrial designer Christian Gafner discovered the limited-edition ilmia shoes on the Internet. It was love at first sight. Contact with the project’s Berlin initiators was quickly established and the whole story surrounding the sports shoe multinational and its injunction came out. Gafner’s practiced eye immediately spotted the shoes’ potential. Unpacking the pair he had ordered over the Internet, he breathed in a set of familiar scents: the hint of adhesive and the fragrance of leather that took him back to his childhood and the hours spent in his grandfather’s shoe making workshop.

2006 found Christian Gafner working for Porsche Design, designing wristwatches for the prestigious brand. Deciding to take on the challenge of ilmia, he paid several visits to Berlin and spent the following two years preparing for the brand’s definitive relaunch. As a result, the shoes continue to be handcrafted in Weissenfels (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany). Through skillful application of the rules of shoe making, every upper is hand fashioned from high-grade full-grain leather and fitted with an out sole.

The design reinforces the brand’s authenticity, steering clear of short-term fashion trends. ilmia has no graphic logo as such, preferring instead to embroider its distinctive logotype on the outer flank of the left shoe in acknowledgment of the orphaned left shoe found in the Berlin flea market – the event that triggered the brand’s rebirth.

So lace up a pair of ilmias and embrace your inner sneaker freak!

Repeat - The Adidas Illness

This first ran a few years back, but several readers asked for a repeat, so here you go -

The Adidas Illness

As has been disclosed here more than a few times, I work from time to time with brands on marketing, sales and pr/media projects as an independent freelancer.   I am currently ensconced in a few very intriguing projects, and in the midst of doing some analysis this weekend I was reminded of some very interesting passages I read in Barbara Smit's Sneaker Wars.

Shamelessly borrowed from the INFOWEB

The brief outline , Sneaker Wars is about the birth of Adidas, and subsequently Puma and the complicated and sad rise and fall of the Dassler family.  And yes, that is very interesting reading.  But what plucked my attention was the parallel story of the rise of Nike and Reebok in the 80s, and the refusal of Adidas to recognize what was happening and adapt.  This was particularly borne out in anecdotes about the "Waffle" trainer from Nike, and the "Freestyle" from Reebok.  In both cases it was a vivid example of an almost criminal lack of imagination.  Clearly, nobody (except maybe Nike) had an inkling as to how big the recreational jogging market would be. And although the Freestyle was admittedly a happy accident due to a mix-up at the factory, it became one of the hottest selling shoes in the US due to the aerobics and fitness boom of the 80s and 90s.

And of course you probably know where I am going with this.  The fundamental issue that the watch industry is struggling against is change.  Change in distribution models, change in marketing approaches, change in purchasing patterns, change in expectations. But here's the funny thing - there are clearly still people buying watches.  But the days of the brands, brand CEOs, brand marketing chiefs, brand PR folks telling people what they should and will buy are now over.  And what is intriguing is that some brands (both solid and dubious) have recognized and harnessed the importance of communication.  Not merely with their distributors and retail partners, but with the actual people who will make the actual purchase.  And they clearly understand that communication is a group activity that is best utilized when the ears are open from time to time.  When you have a focus group of one, it is highly unlikely that you will have an accurate sample, and it's safe to say that the projections will never match the actuals.

Had Nike only focused on what retailers or prevailing logic and sales histories would have told them, they never would have made the Waffle, and likewise Reebok would never have made the Freestyle.  Sooner or later, you have to adapt.

Ironically, a lot of the difficulties the industry faces are not necessarily about product - although that is a familiar and popular excuse.  The North American Sales Manager will insist up and down the if she/he had better product then all would be well.  Sorry, I'm calling bullshit on that one.

The current crisis was not brought on by poor product offerings.  If Hublot is able to still dog-paddle in the rising tsunami of problems, then clearly the product is not necessarily what is holding brands back.  It is back to some very simple points:

1.  Supply and demand - if you flood the market with too much supply, the demand may still be there, but not at the prices you would like to collect.  Discounting, dumping, grey market all ensue.

2.  Performance based employment and pay - sounds harsh, I realize.  But if you are paid a six-figure salary to sell, those six-figures should not be guaranteed.  There has to be a REAL performance component.  But that performance must be REALISTIC.  Meaning that if the expectation for the sales manager is to sell 1,000 pieces in a market that can only support 300 pieces, that is not a "stretch goal".  That is an invitation to cut corners, dump stock, and do whatever it takes (ethical or otherwise) to make the goal.  Realistic performance is what has been forgotten, and that as much as anything is what has got us to where we are now.

3.  Better marshaling of resources - if sales are poor, per diems and travel expenses need to be brought back in to contextual realities.

4.  Connect with your real customers - even if you are a mega-brand, someone on your team should be keeping track of customers.  A gesture as simple, and inexpensive as a holiday card goes a long way towards fostering brand loyalty.  SWATCH, Richemont and LVMH have more than enough people on staff to put something like that together.

5.  And what I mentioned in the beginning - never assume that you're "the nuts".  As soon as you assume that you and only you know which way the industry is going, you should put on your parka and hop on the ice floe.  You are done, whether you know it or not.  

Because let's face some facts - if the big dogs in Switzerland and Germany were always right, the industry would not be in the situation it is now.

Adapt, or die.

The Adidas Illness

As has been disclosed here more than a few times, I work from time to time with brands on marketing, sales and pr/media projects as an independent freelancer.   I am currently ensconced in a few very intriguing projects, and in the midst of doing some analysis this weekend I was reminded of some very interesting passages I read in Barbara Smit's Sneaker Wars.

Shamelessly borrowed from the INFOWEB

The brief outline , Sneaker Wars is about the birth of Adidas, and subsequently Puma and the complicated and sad rise and fall of the Dassler family.  And yes, that is very interesting reading.  But what plucked my attention was the parallel story of the rise of Nike and Reebok in the 80s, and the refusal of Adidas to recognize what was happening and adapt.  This was particularly borne out in anecdotes about the "Waffle" trainer from Nike, and the "Freestyle" from Reebok.  In both cases it was a vivid example of an almost criminal lack of imagination.  Clearly, nobody (except maybe Nike) had an inkling as to how big the recreational jogging market would be.  And although the Freestyle was admittedly a happy accident due to a mix-up at the factory, it became one of the hottest selling shoes in the US due to the aerobics and fitness boom of the 80s and 90s.

And of course you probably know where I am going with this.  The fundamental issue that the watch industry is struggling against is change.  Change in distribution models, change in marketing approaches, change in purchasing patterns, change in expectations.  But here's the funny thing - there are clearly still people buying watches.  But the days of the brands, brand CEOs, brand marketing chiefs, brand PR folks telling people what they should and will buy are now over.  And what is intriguing is that some brands (both solid and dubious) have recognized and harnessed the importance of communication.  Not merely with their distributors and retail partners, but with the actual people who will make the actual purchase.  And they clearly understand that communication is a group activity that is best utilized when the ears are open from time to time.  When you have a focus group of one, it is highly unlikely that you will have an accurate sample, and it's safe to say that the projections will never match the actuals.

Had Nike only focused on what retailers or prevailing logic and sales histories would have told them, they never would have made the Waffle, and likewise Reebok would never have made the Freestyle.  Sooner or later, you have to adapt.

Ironically, a lot of the difficulties the industry faces are not necessarily about product - although that is a familiar and popular excuse.  The North American Sales Manager will insist up and down the if she/he had better product then all would be well.  Sorry, I'm calling bullshit on that one.

The current crisis was not brought on by poor product offerings.  If Hublot is able to still dog-paddle in the rising tsunami of problems, then clearly the product is not necessarily what is holding brands back.  It is back to some very simple points:

1.  Supply and demand - if you flood the market with too much supply, the demand may still be there, but not at the prices you would like to collect.  Discounting, dumping, grey market all ensue.

2.  Performance based employment and pay - sounds harsh, I realize.  But if you are paid a six-figure salary to sell, those six-figures should not be guaranteed.  There has to be a REAL performance component.  But that performance must be REALISTIC.  Meaning that if the expectation for the sales manager is to sell 1,000 pieces in a market that can only support 300 pieces, that is not a "stretch goal".  That is an invitation to cut corners, dump stock, and do whatever it takes (ethical or otherwise) to make the goal.  Realistic performance is what has been forgotten, and that as much as anything is what has got us to where we are now.

3.  Better marshaling of resources - if sales are poor, per diems and travel expenses need to be brought back in to contextual realities.

4.  Connect with your real customers - even if you are a mega-brand, someone on your team should be keeping track of customers.  A gesture as simple, and inexpensive as a holiday card goes a long way towards fostering brand loyalty.  SWATCH, Richemont and LVMH have more than enough people on staff to put something like that together.

5.  And what I mentioned in the beginning - never assume that you're "the nuts".  As soon as you assume that you and only you know which way the industry is going, you should put on your parka and hop on the ice floe.  You are done, whether you know it or not.  

Because let's face some facts - if the big dogs in Switzerland and Germany were always right, the industry would not be in the situation it is now.

Adapt, or die.