Catching Up With: Kurt Schleicher, Director Of Sales At Fox

josh hunter

April 06 2009
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(L-R) Fox’s Director Of Sales Kurt Schleicher, National Sales Manager James “Jimmy O” Onstott, and Marketing Director Jim Anfuso.

Last week Pacific Sunwear of California released its 10-K statement, and listed its top three selling brands for 2008. Fox finished third, accounting for nine percent of PacSun’s net sales in 2008. Transworld Business followed up with Fox’s Director Of Sales, Kurt Schleicher to get some more details about how the brand weathered 2008, its strategy for 2009, and some additional information on the PacSun news. Here’s what he had to say:

Generally speaking, 2008 was a tough year for most action sports brands. How did 2008 sales numbers for Fox compare to 07?

The momentum we had going into 2008 allowed us to have a very solid year. Things slowed in the 4th qtr., but in total we were very happy with how 2008 turned out for Fox.

In PacSun’s 10-K, the company said that Fox was the number three brand for net sales in 2008. Was this a surprise for you guys to find out, or were you already aware of this?

We had a very solid year in both mens and juniors and knew we were becoming a bigger player within their stores. We did not know we were one of their larger brands.

PacSun’s net sales in 2008 were 1.255 Billion. The company said that Fox made up for 9-percent of those sales. So, if my math is right that means PacSun sold around $112,950,000 of Fox products. That’s a considerable amount of business with one account. Is it safe to assume that PacSun is Fox’s largest retail partner?

I would say that is a fair statement.

Quiksilver and Billabong-owned brands took the top two spots in PacSun’s 2008 net sales, but those groups of brands only narrowly out sold Fox [a single brand]. Taking that into consideration, would you say that Fox as a single brand has the best representation of any brand in PacSun?

We are very happy with our breadth of assortment in both mens and juniors. Pacsun has been a great partner in showcasing the Fox brand.

With both Volcom and Billabong announcing to investors that they are working to “reduce dependency” on PacSun, is it a concern for Fox as a brand to have so much product going to a single retailer?

Sure, it is always a concern to have such sizeable partner. Knowing that, we continue to work diligently to grow our core business. That has been our goal since day one.

What other retailers were key accounts for Fox in 2008?

There are so many that are important to us. Our core guys are ultimately the most important to us as they ensure brand equity and the long term viability of the brand.

What are some things that Fox does to help support its key retail accounts?

We really value our retail partners and try very hard to offer them as much support to sell the brand as we can. Some of the things we offer are: POP, GWP’s, exclusive product, in store events, and shop sponsorships.

What regions of the US does Fox product perform the strongest?

The great thing about Fox is it does very well in most regions. The mix of athletes and sports we are involved in transcend very well throughout most of the nation.

How is Fox strategically looking into 2009-2010?

We are playing things conservatively. Err on the side of caution, and when the economy turns around, be ready to capitalize on some opportunities

What major initiatives can we expect to see from Fox over the next two seasons?

We will be launching juniors swim for 2010. We are very excited about what that will bring to our junior business.

For more on Fox, check out the company’s profile from Transworld Business HERE.