Australasian footwear retailer Kumfs has rebranded in a bid to capture a more fashion-oriented market.
Kumfs’ 42 Australian and New Zealand retail stores will be renamed Ziera in September, and the majority of its products will take on the new identity.
Managing director Andrew Robertson said the comfort-focused women’s brand had moved in a more fashionable direction over the past five years, with the name reflecting this shift.
“I guess for many years we have really felt like the name has carried a little bit of a negative connotation,” he said. “We were feeling like the name doesn’t really suit the products any more.”
The brand’s 250-plus domestic stockists will begin to receive stock labelled Ziera from summer 2010. Some heritage styles will be retained with the Kumfs label, due to their repeat orders.
Other classic styles will be kept and renamed, while the majority will be new styles with the Ziera logo. “The Ziera product has got a more fashionable element, but when it comes down to it ... we are a comfort shoe brand, and we are just trying to give women the best of both," he said.
The change will be backed by a marketing campaign through television and magazines, as well as a catalogue mail to customers.
"It is really about trying to link all the aspects of the Kumfs brand and the Ziera brand, so we are initially going to be marketing it as Ziera by Kumfs,” Roberston said. “Once we feel the name is established it will be marketed as Ziera.”
He said a key goal of the new name is to boost its appeal in the US. "The US market is starting to show some positive signs. We have become established in a couple of key retailers.”
In addition to the name change the company is looking to increase its own store retail presence in the near future.
"We have 23 Kumfs branded stores in Australia, which will become Ziera stores, and we have 19 in New Zealand,” Robertson said. “If you compare the population of the two countries, there is room to expand.”
The company is also looking to open stores in the US market, where it currently operates in one location.
Kumfs was established in New Zealand in the 1940s and manufactures 8000 pairs of shoes each week for 700 domestic and international stockists, as well as its own stores.
It offers comfort options from sizes 34 to 45, with various widths available in high heels, flats and sandal styles.
Melinda Oliver