​Outdoor/activewear growth inspires Hotter to launch expanded AW21 range

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Oct 20, 2021

Hotter has been super-busy with its autumn/winter 2021 range. The UK omnichannel footwear brand has added an impressive 34 new styles to its line-up, inspired by stellar growth in outdoor pursuits over the past 18 months.

 
That means the brand has doubled-down on its outdoor and active range, adding 18 styles into this category alone. There are also eight additional new style designs to its workwear range, taking the collection to 22.

Hotter Chief Commercial Officer Victoria Betts said of the new collection: “The past 18 months have opened up huge opportunities across our active footwear range. We have seen a surge of interest in our outdoor line and we expect this to increase as we head into autumn.”

She added: “We have worked hard to respond to our customers' needs and changing trends, and we are proud to be adding 34 new designs to our line up this season, combining our pioneering comfort technology and precision fit, with on-trend styling and functionality.”

Claiming to head the comfort shoes market and selling over 1.3 million pairs of shoes each year, the expanded product launch follows a strong trading period for the brand, which achieved overall global sales growth of 25% in the first six months of 2021 “despite the tough retail conditions”, it said. 

Serving over 4.6 million global customers through its online and mail order channels and via its 17 stores and six concessions in the UK, the brand also claims to reach 29% of the female population in the UK over the age of 55.

During the last 18 months, Hotter has also invested heavily in digitalising customer experience online and in-store. As well as improving e-commerce capabilities and launching a VR app allowing customers to virtually try on shoes, the retailer also boasts its industry-leading Footprint technology in its 17 stores, providing a 3D foot scanning facility to accurately measure foot width and size and continue its leading status in comfort.

In addition to its new collection, the brand recently announced its collaboration with Infinergy, the BASF-designed high-performance responsive material used by athletes. The partnership sees Infinergy integrated into over 40 styles, “increasing energy-return and comfort”. 

The overall success has helped its parent company, Unbound Group, to pursue a listing on the AIM stock market in its final quarter of 2021.

Betts added “We are confident and excited about our future growth and longevity. We have focused heavily on digitalisation of our company and brand over the past year, and this strategy has proved overwhelmingly successful.”