The Artists' Crew: CoolArt	Ecoology by CoolShoe	History of CoolShoe

History of CoolShoe / English

Histoire de CoolShoe / Français

• About CoolShoe :

The Essence of CoolShoe is based on our love of the ocean, the fashion and the extreme sports.

With deep roots in Californian beach culture, we are all about inclusion and positivity. Our brand was started in San Clemente (Ca.) with the idea of facilitating the dreams of the youth. Surf, Music and Art are the common threads that bring us all together. We are passionate about freedom of expression, best quality and originality. We place a premium on smiles.

Welcome to our world... a Cool world.

Straight out of America’s surf skate and snow heartland, COOL SHOE CORPORATION has been walking, running, hiking and trekking the planet since 1980. Originally an underground canvas phenomenon, COOL SHOE made it big when an American company reached en agreement with a French company to develop the products in Europe.

In 1984, in addition to the shoes, the French firm had the right idea to innovate and revolutionize a market segment that at that time offered very basic products and little competition. The initial idea was to produce an original and strong product.

Since 1998, COOL SHOE CORPORATION have started to include sandals and sport style shoes for women and kids, and in 2000, Skate and casual shoes were added to the range.

Success followed soon after, notably thanks to the brand’s flagship product, L’ORIGINAL, with its thick design, thongs, jandals, slaps or flip-flops were quickly adopted by the surf community. Today, Cool boasts a range of over 100 models each year in shoes, slaps, tees, boardshorts and other accessories. We distribute in over twenty countries across the world and sell around a million pairs per year through a network comprised mainly of surf shops, sports shops, jeaner's and shoe shops.

   

In 2008, Cool Shoe launched the first Art Serie Range with a partnershith with the french artist Kanardo. From that time, the Art Crew hosts new artists season after season.

Since 2009, Pro Models developped by Cool Shoe in collaboration with the best Cool Pro Riders as Phil "Macca" Macdonald (Surfer - 2005 ASP #5), Chris "Davo" Davidson (Legend/Surfer -ASP Top 10), Seb Garat (KiteSurfer - 2X World Champion) or Héloïse Bourroux (Bodyboard - World Champion).

With the launching of the FittyFlex in 2010, CoolShoe entered in a new area. The FittyFlex represents a revolution for CoolShoe. It is the fruit of two years of research and concerted efforts in terms of human and financial investment.  This new material offers extraordinary performance, in its weight as much as in its density and in its grip as in its toughness. It is without doubt one of the most comfortable on the market. Comfort remains a priority at Cool and, alongside design, is one of our keys to success.

2012 will be a great year for CoolShoe. For her thirtieth birthday, CoolShoe preparing lot of surprises ...

 

COMPANY PROFILE by Boardsport Source

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SINCE THEIR CREATION IN SAN CLEMENTE IN 1984, COOLSHOE HAVE HELD A SPECIAL ALLURE TO SURFERS EUROPE-WIDE. SOURCE DISCOVERS HOW THE BRAND PLANS TO TAKE THE FOOTWEAR SCENE BY STORM. Interview by Denis Houillé.
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Please tell us about your company.
Cinex SAS was founded in 1984 by Max Granereau and is based in Bayonne, France. Cinex is in charge of the international distribution and development of the footwear brand CoolShoe as well as the Australian brand Ocean and Earth in France and Spain.
CoolShoe, created in 1982 in San Clemente, targeted the Californian surf/skate market and specialised in canvas slip-on sneakers. In 1984, the brand was bought by Cinex, the European distributor and moved to the Basque coast. It then went on to specialise in a product even less exploited - flip-flops.
Success followed soon after, notably thanks to the brand’s flagship product, L’ORIGINAL, with its thick design, thongs, jandals, slaps or flip-flops were quickly adopted by the surf community. Today, Cool boasts a range of over 100 models each year in shoes, slaps, tees, boardshorts and other accessories. We distribute in over twenty countries across the world and sell around a million pairs per year through a network comprised mainly of surf shops, sports shops, jeans and shoe shops.

Who is in the management team and what are their functions?
For just over three years now the company has been under the management of new owner Daniel Marthan, who was at Quiksilver in the 90s as Financial Director. Olivier Grimaud is Head of Sales for France, David Lassée takes care of the International side. Vincent Liets (ex-brand manager HIC) looks after product and myself, David Portugais, the marketing.

How is your company different, both in terms of
products and operating procedures?
What sets us apart primarily, as our name suggests, is our specialisation in footwear. Although our fame was achieved through flip-flops, over the years we have been trying to make our mark on the closed shoe market. The appearance of our products in shops like Citadium in Paris already represents a victory on this ultra competitive market. Beyond our products, we are a company directly spawned from surf culture. Our clientele is essentially composed of action sports (surf/kite/wind) nuts even if we are trying to open it up to larger numbers, especially with our limited edition series signed by urban artists.

What are the latest innovations in the world of slaps?
The FittyFlex represents a revolution for CoolShoe. It is the fruit of two years of research and concerted efforts in terms of human and financial investment.  This new material offers extraordinary performance, in its weight as much as in its density and in its grip as in its toughness. It is without doubt one of the most comfortable on the market. Comfort remains a priority at Cool and, alongside design, is one of our keys to success. The ORIGINAL model was already revolutionary when it came out in 1984.

What are the best reasons why retailers should sell your brand?
CoolShoe is really widely known and this comes from several decades of presence on the market.  In order to refresh our image, two years ago we developed a much more graphic-minded, modern logo while preserving our vintage logo (with the sunglasses) for the more traditional lines. CoolShoe also offers favourable commercial terms for retailers in terms of mark up and pricing.

What was your brand’s philosophy when it was founded? Has it changed since?
The brand’s philosophy hasn’t changed: originality, comfort, quality and price for a targeted market. We are far from the San Clemente days but we stay true to the same spirit that’s drenched in surfing… our ranges have grown but, at the same time, we have not lost any of our soul. 

What are the biggest challenges in our industry these days and how can we overcome them?
Controlling the lifecycle of products within an extremely competitive industry. Confronting the price increase of base materials and controlling their pricing policy. Not missing the chance for new distribution channels - we are launching our e-store this summer.

In your opinion, what brands are coping best at the moment?
I think mostly the brands that come from niches like Nixon or FCS and also the Nike spectre that unfortunately seems to have started to understand how to talk to our market.

What is the future of CoolShoe?

The future of CoolShoe is simple, we have to continue to work on our range of closed shoes, diversify and conquer new markets in France and abroad while staying in tune with our roots.
www.cool-shoe.com

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A propos de CoolShoe :

Au début des années 80, deux jeunes surfeurs californiens décident de créer une marque en adéquation avec leur passion et leurs aspirations. Cool Shoe naît ainsi en 1982, à San Clemente Ca., dans une région et une époque où le surf devient bien plus qu'un sport, une véritable religion, une culture, un mode de vie.  CoolShoe est l'une des premières marques à miser sur la "slip-on" à semelle vulcanisée, chaussure emblématique des surfers et des skaters du moment.

Lors d'un surf trip en France, les californiens font la rencontre de Max Granereau, surfer basque aux idées larges, avec qui ils vont très vite s'associer

En 1984, fasciné par le potentiel de CoolShoe, Max Granereau rachète la Marque, et lance la première sandale de plage destinée aux surfeurs, la "Cool Original".

C'est le début d'une success story. D'abord adoptée par ses potes landais et basques, l' "Original" s'impose en peu de temps sur toutes les plages de la planète, grâce à une forme singulière et une semelle confortable. CoolShoe devient rapidement l'un des leaders du marché de la Tong.

CoolShoe est comme son nom l’indique une marque spécialisée dans le footwear. Et si sa notoriété a été largement réalisée par le succès de ses Tongs, Cool essaie au fil des saisons de faire sa place sur le marché de la chaussure fermée. La présence de ses produits chez un shop comme Citadium à Paris représente déjà un première victoire sur ce marché ultra concurrentiel.

Au delà du produit, Cool reste une marque issue directement de la surf culture avec une clientèle essentiellement composée d’inconditionnels des sports de Glisse (surf/kite/wind…) même si certaines gammes s'adressent à un public plus urbain notamment le développement des ART SERIES, des séries limités réalisées en collaboration avec des artistes issus de l’urban art.

Cool Shoe poursuit une stratégie de croissance : développer ou renforcer de nouveaux marchés (la chaussure, la femme et le textile) tout en conservant l' esprit core de la marque, et en affirmant  sa position de leadership sur le marché des slaps.

Coolshoe possède une forte notoriété qui repose sur plusieurs décennies de présence sur le marché. Afin de ne pas être victime de son succès, de sa "popularité" et de rafraîchir son image, Cool a lancé en 2008 son nouveau logo, beaucoup plus graphique et moderne tout en conservant notre logo vintage (avec les lunettes) pour les gammes plus traditionnelles.

Cette même année 2008 sont lancées les premières "signatures series", résultat de la collaboration entre Cool et ses meilleurs riders tels que Phil Macca MacDonald (Pro Surfeur - N°5 Mondial en 2005), Chris Davo Davidson (Pro Surfer - ASP Top 10), Seb Garat (KiteSurfeur - Double Champion du Monde) ou Héloïse Bourroux (Bodyboard - Championne du Monde).