Woodland Shoes

Introduction
In 1960, Aero Club was founded in Delhi and exported its shoes to USSR. Due to the collapse of
USSR, it lost its major market and was left with major inventory of shoes. Aero group decided to
market the inventory in domestic market and launched its shoes in 2-3 selective stores in New Delhi.
A strong response was recorded from the customers1

Woodland was started in Quebec, Canada for making winter boots and entered India in 1992.
Woodland was one of the brands that Aero Group launched in India as part of its portfolio. At that
time the Indian Footwear market was largely unorganised and Aero Group decided to position
Woodland as an outdoor adventure sports shoes. Soon Woodland became known as a rugged,
outdoor leather shoe brand, the kind usually preferred by adventurists and youth2

Today, Aero Group is a highly integrated firm with its own leather tanning units and production
facilities in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Macau and
Canada

Mission of the brand: Woodlands definition of quality demands that any footwear and garment
made should be long-lasting and strong. It should be as light as possible, supple, feel dry and
comfortable against the skin and be easy to care for. It should be versatile and should perfectly fit an
active man, woman or kid. Environmental harm form manufacturing or growing practices or from
dyes and finishes should be minimal

Woodland wants its product to be the worlds top success products3

Target Market:
Woodland targets the upmarket and niche segment, people who want the best for their
adventurous outside personality side4

Geographic: Woodland is present PAN India with primary focus on Metro cities. Recently it has
started targeting Tier I and Tier II cities5

Demographic: Traditionally, Woodland targets youth in the age bracket of 18-24 years, active
individuals who are interested in exploring6 and are in the upper middle or high level income group.

Psychographic: It targets individuals who are sports-oriented, ambitious and exploring in nature

1
http://woodland-shoes.blogspot.in/2010/05/woodland-shoes-history.html
2
http://www.inta.org/Mumbai2011/Documents/Woodland%20Company%20Profile.pdf
3
https://www.facebook.com/Woodland-Shoes-229809800446352/info/?tab=page_info
4
http://marketingpractice.blogspot.in/2006/01/woodland-are-you-woodlander.html,
http://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/lifestyle-and-retail/2435-woodland.html
5
http://business.rediff.com/special/2010/oct/18/spec-woodlands-strategy-for-success.htm
6
http://www.4psbusinessandmarketing.com/15022013/storyd.asp?sid=5569&pageno=1
Product Positioning:
The brand Woodland started off as rugged high quality premium casual shoes demanding a cost of
above 1500. It has positioned itself as an outdoor trekking shoes of the highest high quality and
long durable

Also, it has positioned itself as an everlasting shoe which can endure extreme conditions an yet will
be as comfortable as new thus establishing reliability with sophistication and ruggedness aspect of
the brand personality

As part of its brand positioning strategies, Woodland promotes adventure sports in India. Many of its
brand ambassadors are outdoor sports professionals like climbers, bungee jumpers, para gliders etc7

The company likes to make Woodland associated with nature and sustainable practices of
manufacturing and has done this many of its CSR initiatives8

Proplanet: An community supported by Woodland to make Planet Earth a better place to live in with
a goal to inspire the next generation and increase their participation in the conservation of nature

UNICEF wash program: In August 2012, Woodland renewed its partnership for the UNICEF Wash
Program. The objective of this strategic alliance was to extend its support to children's
environmental issues in India. This partnership will ensure access of safe drinking water to school-
going children across the country

Carbon-Neutral Shoes: Woodland plans to reduce the carbon footprint of their stores to zero by
adopting environment friendly measures like planting saplings. Most of their end products are bio-
degradable, made from cellulose, raw rubber and vegetable leather

In addition to this Woodland associates itself with youth festivals like Sunburn in Goa, where it ran a
plastic bottle collection campaign

The careful branding and positioning strategy has helped the brand to garner about 40% of the
premium casual shoe market

Marketing Mix of Woodland

Product: Today Woodland, among Mens footwear has boots, sandals and shoes and in the womens
segment has ladies casual footwear including ballerina, boots, sandals, shoes and slippers. Features9
of its products are:

1. Value for money products

2. Trendy and Fashionable
3. Long and Durable
4. Extra padded layers to provide extra comfort

Price: The products are of high price and high quality. The brand has captured 40% of the sales value
of the premium casual shoe market

7
http://www.4psbusinessandmarketing.com/15022013/storyd.asp?sid=5569&pageno=1
8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland_Worldwide
9
http://woodland-shoes.blogspot.in/2010/05/woodland-shoes-history.html
Promotion: It uses ATL strategies like TV, Print and BTL strategies like Internet Advertisements. It
gives complimentary gifts in its exclusive showrooms as an after sales practice. It organizes
promotional mela Shoe Melas in cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bangalore

Place: Currently, Woodland commands a network of 350 exclusive stores worldwide. The brand also
has a presence in more than 3000 multi-brand outlets in a number of countries10

Conclusion
Due to its careful branding strategies and associating themselves with nature through many of its
CSR activities, it has carved a place in the premium casual shoe market for adventure enthusiast and
casual individuals. Its product mix is ideal and it should continually invest in product development to
sustain itself in the global market

10
http://woodlandworldwide.com/companyinfo.aspx