Hi-Tec Sports

Over 35 years, British sports footwear brand Hi-Tec had evolved into a global business selling in 80 countries. But that rapid growth had come at a price: the loss of collection and brand focus. A problem which was beginning to hit Hi-Tec hard in its core markets, the UK and the US. Wellcreative developed a marketing strategy to position the brand clearly and to shift its products into a higher channel of distribution. We also redesigned all its house-style elements, packaging, exhibition stands and communications. 

Case:
British sports footwear business Hi-Tec Sports plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange until 2001, when its major shareholder bought back all the shares as the prelude to a major reorganisation.
Wellcreative was brought in to develop a rejuvenation strategy and a creative concept for the firm's core markets: the UK, the US, Spain, South Africa, the Czech Republic and France.

Shop visits and workshops with local management provided the first step towards defining the essence of the brand's identity and finding a new positioning for it. This exercise was desperately needed, since Hi-Tec was a decentralised business with quite different positions in its various national markets. That was reflected in a huge variety of product designs, marketing strategies and retail channels.

The key theme of the strategic plan we now developed was a focus upon just three core categories: outdoor, court and golf. We advised that product development, design and sourcing be centralised as much as possible. To achieve that, Wellcreative initiated the Hi-Tec Global Design Centre in London. And three global category directors were appointed, with overall responsibility for outdoor, court and golf respectively. Marketing also had to be managed more centrally. Wellcreative itself provided that for all the group's activities in its 70 territories on a temporary basis, until a full-strength marketing department could be put in place at Hi-Tec head office.

Meanwhile, a Wellcreative team was working on a creative concept, the implementation of the new brand identity and the development of a relevant communications concept. They were reflected in a whole variety of media: the house style, packaging, brochures, photography, advertising, an exhibition stand, the website and so on. All the creative work was done by Wellcreative in Amsterdam.

We were also asked to develop a new category for the sports fashion segment. After extensive research in a number of countries, a briefing was prepared for the freelance footwear designers in Italy. That was given by Wellcreative, which then went on to work in parallel with the design team to create a complete brand identity for the new category, as well as a creative concept for its marketing and an exhibition stand. We also designed and implemented a separate website.

In all, the project lasted more than two years. During that time, Wellcreative acted as the global marketing centre for Hi-Tec, covering both the strategy and the development of house-style element and communications. Together with the Hi-Tec board, we worked on the establishment of in-house units in such areas as product design and marketing management. As these departments came together, so our strategic and creative role gradually diminished. At the end of 2003, Hi-Tec recorded its biggest growth in turnover for a decade.