Warrior

HS: What was your prior background in footwear or fashion? Professional, or just personal interest, that got you so into this story and its potential.

Bobby: At school, by trade I guess, studied business and economics. So did both of my partners as a matter of fact, we are all econ majors. I had always been interested in fashion and always had a keen interest in design and architecture. I took some courses in high school and college, and always felt that fashion was always the most clear outlet for what I liked in design and what I had the most natural ability in. You have practice dressing yourself everyday. That is a great way to express yourself.

HS: You mentioned the desire, or ultimate desire, to make Warrior the shoes of the people. There is somewhat of an odd need then to begin with the taste maker market and elite doors. Do you want to talk a little bit about that weird angle that fashion takes?

Bobby: Sure. What that means is that we are a unisex shoe that can be worn at least once a day. At any point in the day, there is a time when you need a pair of sneakers and it could be Warriors. The whole sense of being worn everyday and by any person, we just wanted it to become a complete lifestyle shoe for everyone.

As far as the fashion angle, that’s a great point. As you mentioned, so often when a new thing comes around the marketing team has this huge problem of creating a story behind the brand, a reason for the name and so on. Then they need to go and educate everyone on that and build buzz. We have this fantastic story. This rich heritage which is true and we don’t have to fabricate anything. In truth, the story behind this brand is a lot cooler than anything I could come up with. Our task is mainly just to educate people and our marketing revolves around that. In the sense of starting at elite doors and then trying to get to everyone, being in these places is more than anything else a marketing tool. As you mention, it’s direction and gets people looking at you. When you have people looking at you, there is a good chance they’ll be buying. As we are in Alife, Bodega and Union people are looking at us. And they are saying “what are these, I’ve never heard of them.” By tackling the connoisseur and the people who know sneakers at the outset, we allow ourselves to have word spread top down. As we grow we can look to move to larger tier distributors which would give us access to the more “common man” as apposed to the fashion elite. That is our whole strategy.

HS: Your entering the market at a time of high interest in heritage brands. Lesser, but still high, interest in American made goods. In classic looks. The shoe obviously has classic looks, but given that it is Chinese and made in China have you faced any difficulty on that end?

Bobby: One part of our ongoing mission is... we tell people that this is a Chinese shoe brand, or they ask where it is from. I know immediately that the concern relates to quality. What I try to explain to people is that the shoe is not made in China because it is easier or cheaper. It is made in China because it is Chinese and it is what Chinese people wear. It is not something an American company created and then outsourced to China. Yes, it’s definitely different than something which is American in America. But, for me since people have been exposed to so few brands that are Chinese, it has a pull to it. It keeps people looking at it a little bit longer.