p12,13 teko 6/16/08 11:53 AM Page 13
www.sgb-sports.com
SGB
Outdoor Retail - teko
Sports and Outdoor
then the teko-EcoPoly, Ingeo and teko-organic cotton, the just set a pace where everybody can work efficiently and
raw costs of these goods are obviously higher than if you effectively. Part of that is saying to the retailer 'We’re not
were using their alternative but it’s not negative at all. going to be coming back to you every year or every six
months with a new display'; this is very much part of the
SGB: What’s the reaction to the socks been like in the UK? teko philosophy.
GF: It’s been tremendous. I think a lot of the reaction to
that has been the openness and willingness for the SGB: If somebody finds the right product that speaks to them
outdoor dealer who we’re predominantly working with at and speaks to the lifestyle they want, and to the moral and
the moment, kind of the core market for us… I feel as an ethical standpoint they want, you’ve got a customer for
industry we’re at the forefront of the environmental life…
movement and I think that we have the greatest interest GF: In our market there’s a lot of good product out there,
because we like to go out in the outdoors, we like to walk and there’s stuff that maybe looks better and arguably
on hills, we’re not playing football in a park where the may work better in certain conditions but if you break it
council's looking after it, we enjoy down in it’s basic form we’ve got wool, we’ve got synthetic
the wilderness and getting out and we’ve got cotton, and those three fibres offer different
there. There’s a natural link to any performance aspects. We offer them across our range at
product that is looking to do good different price points.
things to preserve those wild areas, When a customer comes along to look at teko, they’re
so if there’s a product that comes being given a really nice offering and I think it would
along and ticks that box for that appeal to most people, I would say teko’s cut through a lot
retailer in that market it’s just an of the frilly bits that go with trying to be a conventional
easier purchase for them because glitzy, highly marketing-orientated business, they’ve really
it’s essentially doing part of their focused on their product and their process, and maybe
work for them by saying we that’s a new world order… Who knows, maybe that’s
for years, but teko only works with processes which are provide environmentally more attractive for people in the future, I certainly
chlorine-free so we can still achieve the same softness, the friendly products. And what think it is, I mean you only have to look at the rise
same durability, the same itch-free fine wool but without we’re doing by the dealers who come in things like Fair Trade coffee and the
any of the bad chemicals in the process. on board with us, we’re making quite a acceptance that people will pay that price to
We also use teko-EcoPoly which is recycled polyester song and dance with the local press on the fact be aware that the product they’re
from 100 per cent post-consumer plastics and post- that this dealer is selling a sustainable range of drinking is Fair Trade. I think it’s
industrial polyester waste, and it leaves a very soft, socks in their outdoor store because we’re sure it’s fantastic, because it’s us taking
extremely durable fibre which we use. We combine that newsworthy. responsibility for the sort of
with the wool in some of our styles but it can also be used consumerist world that we live in. We
on its own because teko-EcoPoly has very good SGB: Are you supporting your retailers with any kind of want our Starbucks but we’re actually very happy to pay a
characteristics for running, or a if you’re in a very hot retail merchandise? little bit more and be content that the farmers that grow it
situation it will evacuate the moisture very quickly from GF: Our display is again sustainable, It’s made with a are being paid a fair price.
your skin. water-based MDF, and we use recycled metal for the
We also use Ingeo which is a fascinating new fibre. It’s structural parts, and the most environmentally friendly
an oxymoron, a natural synthetic made from maize; they printing process that we can for the recycled card and
use the starch in the maize and basically process it into signage on the displays. They’re fairly robust, these
what they call a polylactide and then it’s made into a displays are not something we’re going to be looking to
synthetic. The great thing about Ingeo is that it's totally change every year as the fashion changes, these have been
biodegradable, so once you’re finished with your socks built to a pretty robust standard in the UK to the US
you can shove them in the compost bin and they will specifications, we don’t have to transport them long
biodegrade over a period. distances and we expect them to last for some
And finally, there's teko-organic cotton which is considerable time. The only thing we will be doing is
something that’s a great fibre for lifestyle use. Cotton is changing the signage, headers and the message that’s on
particularly a performance fibre because it contains its the racks, so it’s consistent with the brand.
moisture very effectively – that’s why towels are made of It's consistent with our approach that everything needs
cotton, because it’s the best on the market for that. to be sustainable, it’s not 'buy it high sell it cheap', it’s not
The fabrics are sourced as close to the factory as try and glory your business one hundred percent every
possible, so there's very little carbon production in the year, none of these things are sustainable; don’t overwork
transport element of it. your staff 20 hours a day because you’ll lose them all, let's
SGB: Often when you get products that have a reasonable
amount of recycled materials in, it can affect the cost. Is the
price point of teko socks comparable to other performance
socks?
GF: It's about the same, we’re managing to keep the prices
fairly competitive. We’re never going to be the cheapest
product on the market, but we have no intention of being
the most expensive either. Wool is the most expensive
component in all of these fibres by a very long way, but
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