Background
Hoka One One had just been introduced into the Australian market off the back of strong growth and brand popularity in the United States. The challenge lay in introducing the brand quickly and efficiently to an array of Australian independent Retailers across a broad spectrum of sporting accounts, and streamlining the pre-book and refill process to maximise fast, profitable growth.
“Having worked in wholesale for many years”, says National Sales Manager, Ian Thomas, “we were quite adept at launching new brands and products into the marketplace, but the situation with Hoka One One was quite unique”. “We knew the opportunity was there, so it was more a matter of shaking up the status quo and doing it differently to maximise the growth profile”.
Solution
Hoka One One worked intimately with Brandscope to load consecutive seasonal releases and supporting marketing assets to drive brand awareness amongst a target audience of independent sporting Retailers. Agents were selected and trained in the use of the platform and a full integration completed with SapphireOne ERP system to minimise human intervention in the order capture and release process. Retailers were then introduced to the system by the Agents and Brandscope training specialists and assisted in a far more streamlined pre-book and refill process.
“We really focussed on using the tool to its maximum” says Ian, “and making it the primary platform for all our ordering… a commitment that paid us back in spades once the product arrived and we started shipping”.
Outcome
Retailer adoption was immediate, as many had already used the system for other brands and the Hoka One One brand quickly grabbed shelf space in a broad sporting distribution channel, ignited by a platform that was accessible and just made business easy for Retailers and Sales Representatives.
“If you were to really burrow down into key success factors”, summarised Ian, “it really came down to our Agents taking more control of the ordering process and collaborating more effectively with our Retailer partners on pre-book orders. And our Retailers being able to dial into the system 24/7 and intuitively view accurate inventory and marketing information and just go shopping when they needed more stock”.
“To a large degree, Brandscope was the glue that brought it all together and the cog that drove the result. It certainly made the whole process a lot easier and more enjoyable”.
Testimonial
“Brandscope was the perfect vehicle to launch a high performing brand into the Australian market as it delivered a direct connection with the buyer and a 24/7 channel to communicate sales and marketing information to assist their buying decisions. It was a level of immediacy and collaboration that we simply could not have achieved using traditional methods. Brandscope was a prime driver in us reaching our aggressive growth projections.”
