one step ahead Lloyds

Lloyds is a European leader in the manufacture of shoes and fashion accessories for men and women. The company continues to lead the field with its stylish designs and high-tech quality finishing. Philip Yorke reports on a company that has set the standards in fashion and quality for shoes since 1888.

Lloyd Shoes was founded by H.F. Meyer in Bremen, Germany and the Lloyd brand name was first registered in 1905. The company’s famous ‘red stripe’ insignia was launched in 1968 as a brand identifier of quality and design. In 1983 the company moved into the sports and leisure footwear sector, which at that time was driven by the big boom in sports trainers. Shortly afterwards the famous brand-name ‘Rocky’ was introduced and took the market by storm. The distinctive brand remains an iconic leader to this day. However, it wasn’t until 2004 that Lloyd launched its first collection of accessories for men and women and this paved the way for the opening of a string of top-drawer retail outlets, known as ‘Concept Stores’, which are now distributed worldwide.

Contemporary concepts

Staying one step ahead of its competitors is part of Lloyd’s DNA as it not only follows cutting edge trends but also sets them. For example, menswear is currently undergoing a phase of continuous transition, with events and demand being driven not by a revolution, but through a gradual evolving of time-honoured stereotypes.

The growing move towards greater casualisation and comfort continues to have a major influence on the visual appearance of men’s fashion. Another significant trend can be seen in the sports sector where foreign influences, traditional craftsmanship and technical innovation are setting the pace. The latest collections by Lloyd reflect the fast moving trends and distinctive casual fashion styles that dominate the following summer and autumn ranges.

Mid-cut boots such as desert bots and Chelsea boots are the new trend setters and are offered by Lloyd in a variety of new last designs that provide a range of exciting material combination. This includes metal appliques, colourful inserts and highlighted lining materials. Last season the company’s most successful X-Motion series was repositioned in the market to impart a more sporty and elegant feel, with stylish upper leathers, complemented by new, non-slip profile soles. Winter themes featuring durable Gore-Tex can also be found in this range as well as in Lloyd’s latest casual boots and loafers.

Growing global reach

The Chinese market has been of increasing importance to Lloyd and as part of the company’s growing internationalisation strategy, it attaches great importance to the Chinese market. As a result, Lloyd entered into a relaunch of its men’s and woman’s designs, which from now on will be represented in China by ‘Kingswood’ who are the premium shoe distributor in China, with whom they have signed an exclusive ten-year contract.

“China has high market volume at its disposal and offers us attractive growth potential. We are highly delighted to be promoting this new strategic orientation on the Asian market in cooperation with Kingswood,” explained Andreas Schaller, CEO of Lloyd Shoes.

Kingswood was founded in 2001 and has over 15 years of relevant experience in the distribution of high quality European brands of footwear on the Chinese market. It is Lloyd’s plan to re-launch its men’s and women’s collections and to establish a sustainable network in China. In order to achieve this, Kingswood will be opening Concept Stores for Lloyd and establishing carefully selected area partnerships throughout the region.

Crossover style

Export sales at Lloyd are driven by the distinctive style and quality of its collections. The company relies upon its own innovative design teams, as well as utilising top design teams from Italy and Germany, for certain collections. In order to promote its diverse product portfolio globally, the company attends international trade fairs such as GDF in Dusseldorf and the MICAM trade fair in Italy. This is in addition to other important trade fairs in Denmark and the Netherlands that take place throughout the year.

The company has also been selling its shoes successfully in Moscow for more than 30 years, which is one of the biggest markets outside Germany and Denmark. Setting new standards and growing its market share is an on-going process at Lloyd. The company is also famous for its business shoes, which it has produced from the outset. However the big trend in informal shoe-wear has led to the development of a very special kind of shoe, known as the ‘Crossover’ Shoe®. This new shoe affords more comfort for the wearer and the ability to provide greater shock absorbance characteristics,

These unique shoes are also bio-degradable and bio-compostable, which in turn means that they will decompose when buried within three months, unlike traditional shoes which can take up to 300 years to achieve the same result. Lloyd is justly proud of the fact that all its shoes are made with sustainability and eco-friendly manufacturing methods in mind. The company also uses water-based glues and other approved materials in their shoe compositions as well as managing all their own waste products.

For further details of Lloyds Shoes and its latest collections visit: www.lloyds-shoes.com