Stevie-winner Decker Brands Expands in Asia-Pacific

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Mon, Jul 06, 2015 @ 04:48 PM

Deckers Brands of Goleta, California, USA won a Bronze Stevie® Award for Company of the Year in the 2015 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. View all of the 2015 winners here.

The 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards will be open for entries in October 2015. Request your entry kit now and it will be emailed to you when it's available.

1506DeckersWorleyDeckers Brands has a 40-year history of building niche footwear brands into lifestyle market leaders, attracting millions of loyal consumers globally. The company was traditionally a wholesaler, selling to other retailers and international distributors, but recently changed its business model to become more consumer-centric. Some 25% of Deckers' revenues now come from direct-to-consumer sales online and in-store.

In 2015, Deckers Brands launched its first multi-brand e-commerce website in the Asia-Pacific region, www.stylebydeckers.com.

“Our People Are Our Most Valuable Asset”

Decker Brands’ President of Asia Pacific, Peter Worley, was delighted to win the Bronze Stevie® Award for Company of the Year in the 2015 (2nd Annual) Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards. “We at Deckers Brands are proud to have been acknowledged, along with all the other worthy recipients, in this year’s Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards,” Peter Worley, Deckers Brands President of Asia Pacific, told us. “Our people are our most valuable asset, and this award is recognition of the passion, collaborative spirit, hard work, and relentless dedication of each of our employees.  I’m both honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award on their behalf, and I know they will be inspired and motivated by it.”

Rapid Growth

We asked Peter what challenges he had faced with Decker Brands’ expansion into Asia-Pacific, and if he had advice for other companies considering expansion in the region.

“The Asia-Pacific region represents an immense business opportunity for compelling footwear brands like UGG®, Teva®, Sanuk®, Hoka®, and Ahnu®.  Consumption has grown faster in Asia Pacific than any other region in the world over the past 10 years,” Peter told us. “The most obvious challenge to doing business in Asia-Pacific is the sheer complexity of the region, with all the countries, currencies, languages, and time zones—not to mention the two hemispheres and associated climate issues,” Peter continued. “On top of that, commerce in the region is changing and evolving rapidly, influenced by politics, economics, religion, tourism, and other factors.  This is not a bad thing at all, but businesses must be nimble and responsive to evolving consumer purchase habits and expectations.” 

In conclusion, according to Peter: “New brands and businesses wishing to enter the region should take time to assess their opportunities thoroughly, and perhaps focus on the one or two markets where they feel they can have the most relevance.”

Style X Deckers

Deckers Brands is expanding its service in several APAC countries over the course of this year. To-date, Singapore and Australia have already gone live, followed by Hong Kong, Malaysia, and South Korea.

The Style X Deckers website platform includes several features that enhance the shopping experience for APAC consumers:

  • The lifestyle search: Consumers can search for products on the website based on his/her personal lifestyle preferences, including "Home," "Urban," "Beach" and "Active."
  • Cross-brand product search: In addition to the lifestyle search, the platform offers a comprehensive product search across all four Deckers' brands, based on a number of criteria, including brand name, price, color, size, materials, collection, benefit, and activity.
  • Geo-targeted catalogue and pricing: The website has the ability to define different catalogs of products based on geography. This includes the ability to accept local currency for each country.
  • Direct access to brand sites: Should customers prefer to shop just one brand, the new multi-brand website makes it easy to access the official brand pages directly.

Style X Deckers is the first online experience that cross-merchandises all of Deckers top footwear brands together directly for the consumer. The cross-brand search function allows consumers to find the product that will best meet their needs–whether for at-home, active lifestyles, or everyday wear.         

The Style X Deckers website is expected to launch in New Zealand and Taiwan during 2016, with the remainder of the targeted APAC countries to follow in 2017.

Growth & Evolution

Peter is excited about the future. “I’ve been in the business of building and developing brands for 30 years … more specifically, lifestyle footwear brands,” he explained. “What inspires and excites me is continuous change and evolution.  It keeps me growing and evolving, both professionally and personally, because I know that what got me where I am today won’t get me where I need to be tomorrow.  Also, it rarely feels like work. Creating compelling products and marketing communications, and building healthy and lasting relationships with consumers is a lot of fun!”

In conclusion, Peter told us: “As a Stevie Award recipient, we share a commonality with all the other organizations that have been recognized for their commitment to excellence this year.  Our people have newfound admiration for these organizations, and their products and services.  Likewise, we appreciate this opportunity to invite their people to experience the Deckers portfolio of brands!”

Deckers Brands' Stevie Award makes them even more well positioned to succeed in the Asia-Pacific region.

About Peter Worley:

Peter Worley was appointed President of Asia Pacific by Deckers Brands in 2012. In this key position, Peter leads Deckers’ continued expansion in a critical geographic region important to all the brands in the Deckers portfolio. He had just marked his fifth year with the Teva brand, where he led its successful turnaround and re-positioning, building a new management team, and increased global sales by 55% since 2006. Prior to joining Deckers, Worley held Product and Sales Vice President roles with K-Swiss during a 10-year period of over 350% growth, as well as product and marketing roles witin the Reebok International organization. Worley is based at Deckers’ Hong Kong office.

About Deckers Brands:

Deckers Brands is a global leader in designing, marketing, and distributing innovative footwear, apparel, and accessories developed for both everyday casual lifestyle use and high performance activities. The Company's portfolio of brands includes UGG®, Teva®, Sanuk®, Ahnu®, and HOKA ONE ONE®. Deckers Brands products are sold in more than 50 countries and territories through select department and specialty stores, 142 Company-owned and operated retail stores, and select online stores, including Company-owned websites. Deckers Brands has a 40-year history of building niche footwear brands into lifestyle market leaders attracting millions of loyal consumers globally. For more information, please visit www.deckers.com.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards have company awards categories as well as categories for management, marketing, customer service, human resources, new products, and much more.  Join the mailing list and you'll get the 2016 entry kit in October.

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