Interviewed Dariga Masenova By its 50th anniversary, which the Scandinavian brand “ECCO” celebrates this year, he managed to “take” the top: ECCO has become a symbol of comfortable, long and stylish style. MIDDLE MARKETING MANAGER, MIDDLE EAST COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE AIA KARKLINA TOLD HOW ECCO WENT TO ITS VICTORIES THROUGH CREATIVE WORKS WITHOUT SEMINARY WORKS ARE WITHOUT OPEN TIME.
Ecco is one of the few companies among shoe manufacturers that not only controls the entire process of its creation, from purchasing leather to sewing, but also distributes finished products. This is undoubtedly one of the secrets to the success and stability of Ecco.
Aya, who creates Ecco shoes?
Real masters who say: we are the "Schumacher" of our business! Translated from German - shoemakers. Ecco is proud that its employees are true craftsmen. Almost all designers come from families who sewed and created shoes for generations. For the Danish brand, uncompromising quality, convenience and style are the most important components.
Is it difficult for you to break into the Middle East market? After all, people here are spoiled for choice.
A few years ago no one knew about us in the region, but Ecco managed to attract its client and build a trusting relationship with him. We did not advertise on billboards on Sheikh Zayed Highway and did not undertake any fantastic marketing moves. Our main audience is people with certain principles: those who do not strive to keep up with the changing fashion, but who value quality above all and lead an active lifestyle.
Congratulations on your anniversary! 50 years is a considerable period.
Thank! The event that we held in April in honor of the 50th anniversary of the company was very important. Ecco respects traditions and carefully preserves them, so during the festivities we, for example, not only held a fashion show, presenting the latest new shoes, but also organized a creative contest.
Fifty years ago, the first Ecco pair was created, called the Ecco Joke. It reflected the philosophy of Scandinavian design: simplicity and convenience. The model was not pretentious, but it was very popular and became an icon in the history of Ecco.
Celebrating the anniversary, we arranged a tender: forty of our designers competed to recreate the new original Ecco Joke style. Our chief designer, Nicki Tastensen, who has been with the company for over 15 years, took the traditional design of Ecco Joke as a basis and diluted it with bright laces and a colored sole. This model and "won." I will only add that today the updated design of Ecco Joke is an absolute bestseller of our brand.
You create comfort for people, but use animal skin for this. This principle cannot be called humane.
We choose the skin of only those animals that are bred for the food industry. Ecco is not only the creator of shoes and bags, but also a major supplier of leather. Due to the high quality of the material and its excellent processing, many expensive brands buy leather from us.
You have introduced fashion to the skin of a yak from Tibet ...
This is true. On its basis, we have created a special BIOM series for professional athletes, lovers of outdoor activities and fitness. Yak leather is a unique material. Firstly, it is incredibly durable, and secondly, it is very light and pleasant for the body. On the foot, shoes made of such material sits like a "second skin." A series of shoes, sandals and sneakers were created as a result of research and scanning of the anatomical features of the feet of more than 2500 professional athletes. As a result, the BIOM model appeared, exactly repeating every protrusion on the foot and giving it acceleration.
That is, simply repeating the shape of the foot for sneakers is not enough?
Old-style athletic shoes interfere with the natural movement of the foot, and this leads to weakening of muscles and tendons. Recent studies prove that if you “help” the foot, direct its movement, the legs will become stronger and injuries will be minimized. Recall Jesper Olsen, the man who twice traveled the earth. Do you know what shoes he crossed countries, continents and cities? In BIOM sneakers! Our shoes allowed him to cover more than 45 km per day, and this is more than the marathon distance. That's the passion Ecco and Olsen have for running!
