Where many new brands, hoping for a slice of the footwear market pie, go wrong is through lack of investment into marketing, POS and promotion. A shoe designer could have been trained alongside the most skilled shoe makers in the world, the leathers could be sourced from the finest Italian factories and the finishes could be on trend, smart and sophisticated. They could have great contacts, book all the right exhibitions to showcase at and be approachable and friendly for retailers to deal with. Surely this brand will outsell many of its rivals hands down? Not always the case. The key areas where many brands who seem to have all the answers, falter on, are usually advertising and marketing, speculating to accumulate and investment in the future of the business. This is where a brand like Sprox comes in and shakes things up a little.

Sprox, a Belgian brand with pizzazz, style and savvy for women and girls set up life just two short years ago in its home country, with the view of making fashion affordable for women and girls without losing out on quality. The brand, brainchild of footwear and sportswear agent Patrick Vannesste, set out to bring fashionable, quality shoes, at affordable prices. Vanessete's history spans a twelve year stretch and has seen him manage sales and marketing for brands as huge as Merrell, Goliath and Perry Ellis Footwear. Partnering with the huge Cortina Group, a local sensation in the footwear market in Belgium, Vanneste and his team began their onslaught on the fashion scene of Europe. Sensibly, the first decision was how to embark on the most aggressive advertising campaign known to Belgium, as Vannesste explains: "We knew from the very beginning that we needed a point of difference to make us more than a Belgian brand. We are an international brand; we were an international brand before we even made a sale. We therefore needed a huge concept that would sell to buyers and retailers for stores across Europe and further afield. "

This concept was taken in the shape of the slogan "Superior Shoes for the Superior Sex" and was plastered in key cities across Europe upon launch of the brand: "We are aggressive in our marketing strategies; we have adverts on televisions across Europe, on the best shopping areas in Paris on the subways across large cities. Now we are launching in Britain, we are set to do the very same, with an onslaught of advertising through major fashion magazines and a large PR push."

Aiming to target the impulsive consumer with a limited budget who loves shopping, fashion and being herself, Sprox is a unique brand with a great point of difference. The shoes, for instance, are leather lined but synthetic on the uppers, because, in Vanesste's words "comfort is on the inside of the shoe". Price points are affordable for the target consumer, £30 to £60 retail price, and Sprox are keen to offer retailers the chance to expand their margins. Sprox start at a cool 2.6 margin but, if retailers accept certain responsibilities from the brand this can grow to 2.8. The label also offers retailers a fantastic Point of Sale system, a magic box of promotional material in store at no extra cost.

"Our policy has been investment into, what I refer to as, ‘The three ps": Product, Price and Positioning. This gives any retailer that chooses to stock the brand a real heads up on others in the market, and has seen our success throughout mainland Europe, and now will hopefully see it in the UK also."

The Sprox style spans several key areas that carve a suitable niche for them in today's market, an elegant section to the collection: heels and exciting colour palettes for a party look, without being too dressed up; Sports fashion: a key area for the brand, with a real funky retro edge in sneakers and ballerinas and then a whole collection for young girls from the age of six to teenage. Produced in China for a great price, but in quality factories that insure a fantastic end product, Sprox appear to have the balance perfectly right.

A hit already in Belgium, France, Holland, Scandinavia, Spain and Greece, the brand has secured 2,000 stockists throughout Europe during its first few seasons and with all of the planning and preparation the brand put in, this figure does not really come as a surprise.

"Our key policy has been to avoid the sell, sell, sell nature that some businesses choose to work towards, and instead to focus on careful planning and preparation to really reach the consumer with our brand concept. This means that we will only choose stores who use the Sprox brand and we do not let stores own brand our shoes."

For more information visit http://www.sprox.com/.  

Moda Hall 19 Stand FL25

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