Fila Korea Ltd., once leading sports shoe and apparel brand that was originally born in Italy, has made a successful comeback after introducing the Court Deluxe shoe label and adding wholesale outlets to its distribution channel.

Born in Italy in 1911, Fila had been one of the world’s top sportswear brands. But it slowly lost its appeal to the customers, especially young generation, after it failed to keep up with the latest sports fashion trend. In 2007, Fila Korea took over its mother company in Italy and since then has worked hard to rebuild the brand’s fame.

The top priority of Fila Korea was to launch new shoe lineups that could win back the hearts of consumers. The company has undergone massive design changes in its shoe line, in particular, to attract young customers and the new Court Deluxe shoes finally hit the market during the 2016 spring season. Since its launch, the Court Deluxe has sold nearly 400,000 pairs, way above 100,000 pairs, average sales volume that a best-selling shoe generally sells, according to the shoe industry.

The company attributes its success with the new Court Deluxe shoes to its pricing strategy and new design. The Court Deluxe shoes are priced at 69,000 won ($60) per pair, lower than the usual price range of 80,000 won to 90,000 for hot seller shoes.

The shoemaker also designed the new shoes to resemble tennis shoes that best show Fila’s brand identity, the company said. The global sports market recently has been shifting to athleleisure from performance-driven products that companies with a long brand history has gained spotlight, said Yoon Keun-chang, Fila Korea executive vice president and son of the firm’s chairman and owner.

Athleleisure is a trend in fashion that combines business casual and athletic wear, and it has emerged as a new category of clothing and shoes. Fila Korea has put efforts to keep up with the latest fashion trend, and it has reformed its design since last year to target young adults - teens and those in their 20s by simplifying the overall look while making its brand logo stand out. “We want our new, young customers to feel familiar to Fila products,” said Yoon.

Fila Korea, under Yoon’s direction, also has changed its sales channel strategy to nurture both retail and wholesale outlets. The company, after taking over the global headquarters, changed its business strategy in the U.S. to focus on shoes wholesale and regained strength in the American market, the company said. It established a new head office for wholesale business in November last year to spread out the success in the U.S. market to other regions.

By Kang Da-young

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