Dave Powers: UGG has grown into a $2 billion-plus brand
Dave Powers · Dave Powers: The Meteoric Rise of Hoka Running | E1098 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings · Dec 22, 2023 · at 34:09
Dave Powers is the President and CEO of Deckers Brands. He discusses how consumer emotional connection and comfort enabled UGG to become a multi-billion dollar brand.
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“And so we've been able to tap into those two insights to build what we are now, a two billion dollar plus brand.”
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More from Dave Powers
Powers: Hoka will never market directly to mass-market casual consumers
“We're not going to market mass market to the casual consumer out there. That's not who we are. We are performance brand through and through.”
Powers: Nike Free's barefoot running trend created injury-causing footwear
“You know, and it was, you know, Nike went there with the Nike Free and started making this, you know, lower profile product and everybody just followed suit. So next thing you know, you have a whole industry of, you know, running brands that are creating produ…”
Powers: Nike is Hoka's primary internal target for market share capture
“Well, for Hoka, it's, you know, it's Nike. That's the one that really drives us internally, is, hey, you know, we think that we could take a chunk of their business.”
Powers: High employee turnover was necessary for UGG's 2016 turnaround
“We had a lot of turnover at that time, which I think, you know, was probably the right thing to do. Definitely the right thing to do.”
Powers: Deckers can organically add billions in revenue over five years
“We feel we have a path where we could, you know, Add billions onto our revenue today over the next five years organically, which is the best way to grow a business because it's built in.”
Dave Powers: Deckers prefers tech partnerships over major acquisitions
“We're not a technology company. You know, you've seen folks like Under Armour and Lululemon acquire technologies. It's hard to do and keep it going and do it right. And I think we're better off just partnering with brands like that versus making major acquisit…”