Clarks ‘steps up' in Asia-Pacific

Clarks, a global British shoe brand and a £1.5-billion business, celebrates its 190th anniversary this year. Currently in 130 markets, it is planning an aggressive growth to open 100 stores in Asia-Pacific over the next 12 months. Clarks’ APAC president, Nancy Huang, shares with Vanessa Ching her strategies for the region.

C&J Clark Limited, the owner of the Clarks brand, the privately owned footwear business, was founded in Street, Somerset in the UK by the Clark family in 1825. Still based in Street, the Clarks Group designs, develops and sells a wide range of footwear and accessories for men, women and children.

The Clarks brand, hailing from its strong British heritage and reputation for craftsmanship, has widely appealed to Asia’s rising middle class. Its footprint in China reaches 600 points of sale, while its stores in India, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia have been operating for two decades.

Nancy Huang, president, Clarks, Asia Pacific, declares: “As we celebrate a significant birthday, we are as nimble and entrepreneurial as ever and poised for growth. We see great future potential for further expansion and are excited about the possibilities.”

“Clarks is determined not to fall into the trap of many western brands that make the assumption they will secure market share in Asia due to their power and size in other regions. Clarks truly invests in localising its approach at every level in each market it is in.” — Nancy Huang, APAC President, Clarks

How is a British shoe brand adapting its regional strategy to better communicate and serve the needs of its Asian markets/customers?
Nancy Huang: Clarks is one of Britain’s oldest and most successful brands but it’s the middle class in China and Asia who are helping to shape our future. Global brand development (even in our home market of the UK) is now strongly influenced by the brand’s Asia positioning. The Asia region’s desire/demand for innovation has challenged Clarks to develop more creative environments in which to sell shoes.

Some of the newest stores in Asia have acted as testbeds for Clarks’ global concept development including new innovations and standalone store concepts. Some of Clarks’ newest stores in Asia will act as blueprints for flagship and anchor stores across the world in coming years. The brand has developed a first-ever children’s concession store that was tested in Beijing (and the first store will be rolled out in Dubai next month), a women’s-only store in Beijing; and stores that just focus on the professional, higher-end range of Clarks shoes.

Why is Clarks choosing to expand now?
Huang: Clarks is committed to Asia and has been in the region for two decades. Over the past few years, the company has invested heavily on building partnerships, people resources and capabilities to support a rapidly expanding set of markets in Asia for the future. The business has proven itself to have the stamina, acumen and long-term perspective over our 190-year history to survive and prosper during uncertain economic times. The company is privately owned so is not at the whims or demand for short-term returns that shareholders often demand. Clarks believes in the long-term growth and prosperity of APAC.

What will entail in a five-year plan for Clarks in Asia-Pacific and beyond?
Huang: This year has been marketing-driven:

• In 2015, Clarks is celebrating its 190th anniversary with a series of activations and partnerships that will bring the Clarks story and style heritage to life across the globe.
• Online, the Clarks Unboxed digital platform will allow users to discover fascinating stories from Clarks’ 190-year history.
• Online and in-store, Clarks is bringing back the Brown Petersburg slipper. This was the first style created by the Clarks brothers. The 2015 slipper will also be made in Somerset, UK, using local skills and materials.
• Clarks is collaborating with leading UK museum, V&A, on the sponsorship of an exhibition and their first-ever shoe collection. It has been inspired by designs from the Clarks and V&A archives, and will be available for AW15 across the globe.
• Clarks wants to share its rich heritage and stories with a global audience who might not be aware of the incredible journey the brand has been
on and the impact that its designs have had on footwear trends over the years.
  Its plans over the next 12 months and beyond are:
• To continue to expand into new markets in Asia. The brand has a strong presence and a successful business model in China and is seeking to replicate this in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. India is also a key focus.
• To continue to build a sustainable presence in existing markets to best serve new customers and our current customer base.
• To upgrade our existing stores and develop creative and innovative spaces in which to sell shoes.
• To continuously test new ideas for standalone concept stores and concept development.
• To continue to develop an efficient digital marketing strategy that delivers ROI and is flexible enough to meet the needs we have in each market.
• To continue to integrate our offline and online customer experience.

How does Clarks position itself against its contemporaries?

Huang: Clarks is determined not to fall into the trap of many western brands that make the assumption they will secure market share in Asia due to their power and size in other regions. Clarks truly invests in localising its approach at every level in each market it is in.

Clarks is a global brand and the world’s biggest everyday footwear brand. Built on style and comfort, there aren’t many brands that can rival Clarks’ credentials in heritage, craftsmanship or our pioneering methods in footwear engineering and innovative technologies. Clarks ‘Britishness’ has been a core factor of our success in Asia and our ability to differentiate ourselves from our competitors.

What is the success formula of the brand?
Huang: The Clarks brand has universal appeal and is globally renowned for effortlessly stylish and comfortable footwear. It is a genuine and authentic global brand that resonates with its target audience and echoes the strong principles upon which the business was founded nearly 200 years ago.

Clarks has played a role in many of the most important global events of the past two centuries. We took our slippers to the Great Exhibition, fuelled the Roaring Twenties with our dance shoes, shod the feet of Spitfire pilots during World War II and even became Walter White’s (star of the Golden Globe-winning drama Breaking Bad) preferred shoe supplier. The everyday comfort of our shoes is well-beloved by individuals who are always on their feet. They value the dependable practicality and durability of Clarks styles.

Meanwhile, Clarks Originals has built a loyal following among fashion-conscious individuals who look to Desert Boots, Trigenics, Wallabees and others for timeless, yet also perfect-for-now, shoes. Clarks may have a strong heritage and history but it has kept pace with change and positions itself as a modern British brand.

What are your thoughts on opportunities and challenges in logistics?
Huang: Clarks is investing significantly in its logistics operations and IT infrastructure. There are now four large local distribution centres in Asia-Pacific, in China (Shanghai), Japan (Tokyo), Malaysia and Singapore, thus improving efficiency, ensuring shorter lead times for retail outlets and e-commerce, and allowing Clarks to cater for the specific demands of local markets. Due to the geographic size of the region, there are inevitably challenges in ensuring we get our products to our customers on time. In reality, it becomes part of the overall evolution as the business grows; it is important to ensure the capability is in place to support our customers as we continue the journey.

What are Clarks’ opportunities and challenges going into markets in Asia thus far?
Huang: Clarks takes a considered approach to business, drawing on the moral principles upon which it was originally founded when entering new markets:

• Acting Local: Rather than falling into the trap of many large corporates and trying to have a one-size-fits-all rule, we do our best to localise our business practices. Here are two examples:
  – We don’t stick to rigid global account­ing practices when doing business in Asia. Clarks is adopting an agile, more innovative approach, one that is based on refining and adapting its financial set-up in alignment with each local territory and what is customary regarding business contracts, payment terms, export customs and other commercial transactions. This also ensures the business stays agile and does not miss out on opportunities for growth. This has earned Clarks much respect within the trade and with business partners, and attracted many opportunities for business growth and development.
  – Digital marketing. We are aware of the unique digital landscape in Asia and the various touchpoints. We have a global strategy but allow each market the flexibility to decide the channels and marketing messages that will deliver the most ROI and be the most cost-efficient against our objectives.
• War for Talent: Demand for management talent is far outstripping the supply in Asia and Clarks has tackled this problem head on. Clarks is already looking to the future to succession planning to identify the next generation of senior business leaders. ‘Step Forward’ is Clarks’ new global leadership training programme which is specifically designed to give managers the skills they need to drive the business while supporting and nurturing staff to develop their potential. It helps our staff across Asia to live and breathe our company values while being flexible enough to allow for subtle, cultural differences in management styles.

What do you see are trends in fashion retailing in the next five years?
Huang: We believe these three trends are the biggest:

• Mobile at the heart of any digital strategy;
• Continued integration between e-commerce and digital marketing and offline marketing; and
• The rise of social including social commerce and social customer service.

How is Clarks staying competitive in this e-commerce market? What should retailers look out for in e-commerce?
Huang: Firstly, good products speak for themselves so the most important point is making sure your products are the best quality they can be. Understanding the needs of customers as well as answering their needs with speed of delivery and customer service are similarly vital. The ability to change and evolve quickly is also fundamental to a successful e-commerce strategy.

Could you share Clarks’ mobile marketing strategy?
Huang: Mobile is our first consideration. It sits in the centre of all of our strategy development. We plan all of our assets, campaigns and e-commerce around the user’s journey on mobile.

What do you think is the next big thing in e-commerce/retailing?
Huang: Online and offline integration and a consistent user journey from which ever touchpoint you are coming into contact with the brand. (Touchpoints could include website, social media, CRM, market places, KOL’s).

Trends and fads come and go. Describe what social platforms you utilise?
Huang: For us, different social platforms fulfil different goals but they are not all equal and fulfil different objectives for different markets. It’s about understanding what each tool can do for you and then tailoring and localising your plans for each core market:

• On a global level:
  – Facebook is important for engagement;
  – Twitter is most useful as a customer service channel; and
  – Google+ does not have a huge user base but is very important for SEO.
• In core markets:
  – WeChat is the most important channel for us in China and has overtaken all other tools due to its brilliant functionality; and
  – Line is the most important channel for us in Japan.

You have to be prepared to make educated decisions on the right touchpoints for your brand based on ROI. You have to decide when a social platform has become more than just a trend and an important business tool.

You also need to be brave to create your own assets. As part of a year of celebration for Clarks’ 190th anniversary, we’ve launched Clarks Unboxed, a groundbreaking digital concept that will bring our history to life through engaging content and will launch in Asia soon.

Clarks Unboxed has been compiled in collaboration with curators from the V&A who have scoured the Clarks archives in the village of Street, Somerset to tell the very British Clarks story anew.

Whether it’s exploring the world fame which Clarks achieved when film stars such as Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich opted for our stylish shoes during the 1930s, discovering the fantastic variety of shoes which Clarks showed at the enormous Great Exhibition in 1851 or being inspired by the styles which were adopted by subcultures including the Beatniks, Mods and Rudeboys throughout the 20th century, Clarks Unboxed celebrates 190 years of innovation and agenda-setting from one of Britain’s best-loved brands.

Clarks is inviting fans from around the world to discover the Clarks story for themselves with this immersive journey through the Clarks story, from the sharp business brains of the entrepreneurial Clarks brothers in a tiny Somerset village to the trendsetting cool of Honor Blackman’s famous black Clarks boots in the 1960s series The Avengers.