Hush Puppies to roll out socks, underwear
Hush Puppies International, the American manufacturer of casual footwear under the Hush Puppies brand, is preparing to expand its product line to include clothing and accessories.
The company hopes to build on its 48 years in the global market and 15 years in Thailand. The plan to launch new products is part of the company's new global policy, under which it has expanded product lines in some of its markets over the past year, Thailand among them. Vice president Bill Mirecki said people had embraced the brand, and so the plan to offer new product lines was only natural. In Thailand, the company will start selling men's socks and underwear. Mirecki said the company had forecast that its clothing and accessory lines would account for 20 per cent of global sales within three to five years. Hush Puppies International will introduce its new lines in all of its existing markets through soft launches, but dates are yet to be set. In the Asia-Pacific region, the company has already rolled out new lines in Singapore, Malaysia and China. The company opened a flagship store in Beijing last September, where it sells all its new product lines. It will wait until sales have matured, however, before opening a store in Thailand. The plan to introduce new products will not require the company to invest in any new factories. All of its products are manufactured by subcontractors. In Thailand, Cetrac International Ltd, a subsidiary of Central Trading Co Ltd, is Hush Puppies' licensee. Certrac subcontracts orders out to five factories that manufacture shoes for the Thai market. It also uses three factories to manufacture clothing and accessories. Globally, Hush Puppies International expects sales to increase by 5-10 per cent in the next five years. The company sold 18 million pairs of shoes last year, with North America being its biggest market, accounting for 28 per cent. The remainder was distributed evenly around the world. Asia-Pacific is the company's fastest growing market, with sales expanding by more than 10 per cent in the past five years. Meanwhile, Pannee Tangjitsatiankul, the assistant vice president of Cetrac International, said she expected company revenues to expand 10 per cent this year, down from an earlier projection of 18 per cent due to negative economic factors. Last year, the company generated Bt320 million, of which Bt260 million came from its shoe operations. Its marketing budget for the year is 5-6 per cent of expected sales.
Nitida Asawanipont The Nation
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