New Zealand women's shoe manufacturer Kumfs today unveiled ambitious plans to gain a stronger foothold in the Australian -- and global -- market under the new brand Ziera.Managing director Andrew Robertson initiated an $NZ8 million programme to rebrand th
New Zealand women's shoe manufacturer Kumfs today unveiled ambitious plans to gain a stronger foothold in the Australian -- and global -- market under the new brand Ziera.
Managing director Andrew Robertson initiated an $NZ8 million programme to rebrand the company's product and refit - and expand -- retail outlets.
A new range was also showcased as the company tries to shed a conservative matronly image and triple sales to more than $NZ200 million by 2015.
Mr Robertson identified Australia as a key growth market, with at least six new company stores planned in the next 12 months.
The first Australian Kumfs store was opened at western Sydney in 1995, since then the company's profile has grown to 24 dedicated outlets throughout the country.
Establishing a retail store in San Francisco is also a priority after the success of their solitary United States presence in Fresno, California.
In five years Mr Robertson hoped to have 125 Ziera-owned or franchised stores globally, a significant increase on the existing portfolio of 44.
It also has 700 stockists worldwide and employs 300 staff.
"This is an exciting time for our company," said Mr Robertson, grandson of original founder David Robertson.
"Ziera heralds a new era for us. Our brand is evolving, and we're confident women will respond positively to our products."
The late David Robertson and brother-in-law Mervyn Adams started a podiatry clinic at Auckland in 1933 and gradually branched out into the shoe industry, opening their first store in Hamilton in 1950.
The pair started manufacturing their own range in 1961 and in 1995 the brand name Kumfs was introduced.
Mr Robertson said the company had spent several years pondering how to modify its image.
"We needed to move away from the connotation with the Kumfs name," he said.
"There's a group of women that would consider us their mother's shoes, that's not something we can sustain going forward.
"Over the last five or six years we've become more design-led, there's a more of a fashion edge to our products," he said.
"As we went on we felt our products didn't really work with the Kumfs name. It's not the most attractive word, we really wanted something that was more feminine and aspirational."
Mr Robertson was confident Ziera, a name devised by an Auckland brand strategy company, would ultimately fulfil that aim.
"It's a new word, we have to fill it with meaning now," he said.
The company's relaunch in New Zealand starts next week.
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