Vans Reissues Plat Shoe, Adds Gloss
Joining the wave of manufacturers trying to lasso in the teengirl market, Vans Inc. announced it is bringing back a shoe style that was popular in the 1990s. The Vans “Plat Sidestripe” shoes will hit specialty stores such as Journeys, Tilly’s, Zumiez and Vans retail stores in October, in time for the holiday season.
This time around, the shoe will only come in bright pink and black—and with a coordinating hot-pink lip gloss.
Vans has partnered with Urban Decay Cosmetics LLC., a trendy, teen-oriented cosmetic company based in Costa Mesa, Calif., to gain a more fashion-forward appeal in the competitive shoe market. Teens who want the custom-created hotpink “Vans Plat” Urban Decay XXX Shine Lip Gloss will have to pick up a pair of shoes to get it.
“This will put us in front of a different customer,” said Shelley Neumyer, a Vans spokeswoman. The shoe is targeted toward females ages 10 to 24.
In the past, Santa Fe Springs, Calif.–based Vans has concentrated on selling its shoes to young male skateboarders.
But as sales have dipped and profits have plummeted in recent years, Vans has been successfully expanding its merchandise mix to girls and young women.
“It looks to me as another way for Vans to basically do something new and different in their women’s products line,” said Jeffrey Van Sinderen, an analyst for B. Riley & Co., a Los Angeles institutional brokerage firm that follows Vans’ stock on the NASDAQ. “They’ve had good success with that when it’s done right. It appeals to the Hot Topic, alternative, extreme- sports demographics.”
The partnership with Urban Decay will continue through the holiday season.—Deborah Belgum
