Wingsfoot Enters Global Market Centered on North America... "Supply Contract Under Negotiation"

Wingsfoot announced on the 11th that it is in the final stages of negotiating a wholesale supply contract with the local Canadian distribution company ‘F’.

F is a company specializing in the distribution and sales of global brand products in the North American market, centered in Canada. It mainly handles the American functional shoe brand ‘Floppers’, the French brand ‘Arche’, and pop star Katy Perry’s ‘Katy Perry Collection’.

Wingsfoot plans to actively target the North American market by leveraging its recognized product planning, design capabilities, and marketing skills in Korea. To this end, the company explained that its founder and largest shareholder, Kim Young-cheon, who successfully led the U.S. launch of global sports brands such as FILA, will also participate in the company’s global market entry strategy.

The supply contract under negotiation between the two companies focuses on Wingsfoot directly supplying products, for which it holds exclusive licenses in Korea, to the North American market including Canada. Wingsfoot holds independent planning, production, and sales rights for these exclusive license products separately from the headquarters.

A Wingsfoot official said, “Our company’s excellent product planning, branding ability, and design capabilities have been highly evaluated, and industry insiders proposed this contract first,” adding, “If the contract is signed, it is expected that more than 40,000 pairs of products will be supplied annually, which could lead to a significant increase in sales.”

He continued, “The company’s founder and largest shareholder, Kim Young-cheon, plans to lead the related business strategy,” adding, “Founder Kim Young-cheon is an expert who not only led FILA’s entry into the U.S. market but also successfully launched the global basketball shoe brand ‘Patrick Ewing’, and he has extensive experience in both the North American and global markets.”

Recently, global brands such as Adidas and Nike have also been strengthening their wholesale business models again. This is intended as a stable sales growth strategy rather than an aggressive retail expansion. Wingsfoot plans to first increase brand awareness through the wholesale method and then expand its distribution channels.