With awards that range from “Best New Footwear Brand” to “Charity Event of the Year” UGG Australia, creators of the wildly popular UGG boots are a true corporate success story. Founded in 1978 by an Australian surfer who transplanted himself to California, UGG was originally a brand that featured comfortable shoes. For twenty years, UGG chugged along generating modest but steady sales. In 1998, the company took a major step in another direction. The company, under the guidance of its new corporate overseer, Decker Outdoor Corporation, made a strategic move and positioned itself as a maker of high-end luxury footwear.
In 1998, the UGG footwear line consisted of two boot styles, four slipper styles and a few casual footwear styles. The new positioning as a high-end luxury and high fashion footwear supplier proved to be a perfect fit for UGG Australia. Within three years, the line was regularly being featured in high fashion magazines and photo shoots. The company formed a strategic alliance with Nordstrom and the brand really took off.
As important as the new positioning was to UGG’s success, there was another factor that rocketed UGG Australia’s footwear line to international prominence. In the year 2000, just two years after the strategic repositioning of UGG Australia’s product line, Oprah Winfrey received a pair of UGG boots. The charismatic television host and worldwide celebrity loved the boots so much that she ordered 350 pairs as gifts for her entire staff. She also featured the UGG Ultra Boot on her well-known Oprah’s Favorite Things show.
The response was electric. The UGG brand had arrived. When Oprah featured another UGG boot in her 2003 Oprah’s Favorite Things show, the Baby Pink and Baby Blue UGG Classic Boots from UGG became a runaway holiday bestseller. That year was also the year that UGG Australia’s line was named Footwear News’ Brand of the Year.
Those events were not the end of Oprah’s association with the footwear line, though. The television host featured UGG’s Uptown Boot in her 2005 Favorite Things show, and sales of the sophisticated footwear style skyrocketed overnight. In less than ten years since shifting from ‘comfortable shoes’ to ‘the ultimate in footwear luxury’, UGG has become a high-fashion staple, and created an entire new category of fashion footwear. UGG sheepskin boots, shoes and styles are regularly seen all over the world on high fashion runways.
UGG Australia has not rested on its laurels, though. In 2005, the corporation decided to give back some of its good fortune by championing an important cause. The company partnered with St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in a charity event that they cleverly named Art and Sole. UGG Australia challenged selected high profile artists, politicians and celebrities to hand design a pair of Classic Boots. The finished products are auctioned off on eBay, and the proceeds donated to St. Jude’s. In 2005, the event rose over $40,000, and attracted the attention of the philanthropy world. In 2007, Art and Sole was named the Best Charity Event of the Year by Accessories Magazine, a feat usually reserved for glittery parties and golf tournaments. Celebrities who have participated since the event’s inception include Sharon Stone, John Travolta, Reese Witherspoon and Donald Trump.
It is not surprising that most people have seen a pair of UGG’s; either in a store or on the street or featured in a magazine. The famous footwear has been photographed on the feet of some of the world’s most well known folks, including Oprah. The latest UGG celebrity sighting is featured in InSide Style’s “Where Can I Get…?” feature – on the very lovely feet of actress Jessica Alba. InTouch Magazine photographers got a shot of the effervescent Gwen Stefani; toting son Kingston wearing a pair of the company’s famed Baby Boo line of infant boots. US magazine spotted actress Liv Tyler strutting in a swingy baby doll dress all dressed up with a pair of UGG Tasmina sandals, and Star paparazzi snapped Carmen Electra on the street in a stunning pair of women’s Classic Tall boots, one of UGG’s signature lines. Clearly, given the amount of celebrity endorsements, it’s fair to say that the UGG brand has arrived.
The UGG brand has flourished as a high fashion staple. From just a few distinctive styles of boots and casual sandals to dozens of stunning styles in comfortable, luxurious sheepskin, UGG has become a worldwide name in luxury footwear. It’s only taken a few short years – and the company is set for a good, long run at the top.
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