"Making 4050 Ugly Shoes"... Discovery's New Challenge

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] A design that looks like it popped out from the shoe rack of the parents' generation. Weighing 1kg per pair, 'ugly shoes' are popular among the millennial generation but hard for the older generation to relate to. Just two years ago, Discovery, which made ugly shoes its main item, captivated millennials and began targeting the middle-aged 4050 generation.

On the 3rd, at the Gangnam headquarters in Seoul, Lee Jin, head of the Discovery Expedition Shoes Team, said, "We plan to launch a new premium ugly shoes line targeting the 4050 middle-aged generation as early as this fall." Discovery tapped into the millennial generation's concern of "wanting to follow trends but feeling burdened to wear them daily" by introducing the lightweight ugly shoe Diwalker, which changed the trend of ugly shoes.

Ugly shoes are characterized by a bulky design with wide toe boxes and thick outsoles, fitting their name of "ugly sneakers." For example, the Balenciaga Triple S, which started the ugly shoe trend, boasts an enormous weight of 1kg for a pair.

Lee said, "Since ugly shoes originated from dress shoe brands, there were limitations in 'weight' regarding materials and design," adding, "It seems the lightweight concept emphasizing mobility while preserving the retro design appealed to the millennial generation."

It is evaluated that the success was due to reinterpreting the drawbacks of existing ugly shoes by incorporating Discovery's DNA of "everyday comfort." With the mission of "making them as light as possible," they developed their own material called DX Foam and minimized the amount of rubber in the outsole to enhance lightness. The result was a huge success. After the launch of Discovery's ugly shoe Diwalker, SPA (Specialty store retailer of Private label Apparel) brands successively released lightweight walking-type ugly shoes, changing the trend flow of ugly shoes.

The ugly shoe line targeting the 4050 generation aims to maintain its unique and stylish design while reducing weight to maximize wearing comfort. Lee said, "The new ugly shoe line targeting the 4050 will use high-performance materials like Gore-Tex to enhance comfort and maximize the structural advantages of the design to emphasize comfort during walking." To this end, they are focusing on improving related technologies such as DX Foam, a core technology for lightweighting, and the 3DX insole, which cushions the impact between the foot and the ground.

Discovery, which made ugly shoes its main item, achieved vertical growth in shoe sales last year. This is the result two years after forming the shoes team in March 2018. Diwalker alone sold 250,000 pairs last year, achieving annual sales of 35 billion KRW. The proportion of shoe sales in Discovery Expedition's total sales rose to 15% as of the end of last year.

Lee emphasized, "Our goal is to increase the shoe sales proportion to 20% by the end of this year and stabilize it in the 30% range within a few years." He said, "Compared to clothing, the shoe business, which is relatively less seasonal and can secure loyal customers, will become Discovery's new growth engine."