Impressions - Sports Fan Retailer - Spring 2014 - 12

FIRST & 5

Love for the Game
This licensed footwear supplier
knows ﬁrsthand the importance
of women consumers.
By Jamar Laster, Editor

eople usually are shocked
when Kathleen Cucé answers
the typical first question they
ask upon meeting her: "What's
your background as a supplier in this
industry?"
Her shocking answer? "Absolutely
none."
However, that doesn't mean Cucé,
co-founder (along with her identical twin
sister, Kristina) of Cucé Shoes, Virginia
Beach, Va., doesn't know what she's doing.
"Our parents were in the food and beverage industry for 25 years and we began
working at a very young age," she says.
You could describe the Cucés' foray
into the sports licensed footwear niche
(the company was started in 2010) as a
labor of love for the game. Both sisters
are passionate about fashion, and they
saw the need for NFL licensed footwear
while attending a game between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots.
"It was snowing and our feet were freezing and soaking wet by the time we made
it to the stadium," Kathleen Cucé recalls.
"We thought a pair of rain boots with
Colts logos all over them would be the
perfect finishing touch to our gameday
outfits. We searched the market to find a
pair and were surprised to find out that
licensed footwear did not exist."
Such isn't the case anymore. SportsFan
Retailer recently caught up with Kathleen
Cucé to ask five questions about the fashion footwear market, female consumers
and more.
SportsFan Retailer: What styles/details
about footwear have changed recently?
12 Spring 2014

Kathleen Cucé: We launched our first
collection three years ago and it was all
about function. We produced a line that
consisted of faux fur, snow and rain boots.
We have added wedges, stilettos and
some spring styles. We are making more
fashion-forward styles women can wear
every other day of the week.
SFR: Does fashion still still play as big
of a role with women consumers in this
sports licensed product market?
KC: Fashion has been the leading factor in
consumer products these past few years.
Female product sales are surpassing that
of male item transactions and the NFL is
really taking notice of that. They are pushing licensees to create fashion-forward
items for the female fan demographic that
is growing. For instance, the NFL's female
fan base reached more than 80 million
last season. Women love their football
teams and they love fashion.
SFR: What other factors are big drivers of
product demand for female consumers?
KC: The NFL has created many campaigns directed toward all types of women. They are putting ads in fashion magazines like Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan,
and have a huge campaign called "Fit

Kathleen &
Kristina Cucé
For You" that includes spokeswomen
like Condoleezza Rice, Serena Williams
and supermodel Karolina Kurkova. The
campaign consists of so many types of
women that relate to each of us differently.
SFR: How do you stay abreast of what
consumers are demanding?
KC: We design new collections each season and offer new styles. This has proved
very successful for all of our vendors in
that we are able to keep up with new
trends each year. This year, short bootie
boots were the new frenzy, so we launched
a collection consisting of shorter-height
boots. We launch a collection every
August, so this means our collection in
August 2014 follows new fall fashions.
SFR: What should retailers know about
effectively selling/merchandising fashionable items?
KC: Retailers are always very nervous to
try something new, which is understandable. However, they should experiment
with fresh product for their customer bases. Women want something no one else
has or something that seems exclusive.

More About Cucé Shoes
Product Lines: More than 10 footwear styles and an oversized off-theshoulder sweatshirt line.
Licenses Carried: NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB
Distribution Channels: Online retailers, specialty stores, league pro shops
Website: lovecuceshoes.com

SportsFan Retailer

http://www.lovecuceshoes.com

Impressions - Sports Fan Retailer - Spring 2014

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