Footwear market / Scholl

Editorial staff

Scholl , the renowned 100 years footwear brand, transformed itself to comfortable design fashion brand and unveiled new slogan to reinforce its leadership in aesthetic comfort footwear.

Marc Wachholz, managing director - H&F Shoes (Thailand) Co, said that 2024 marks an exciting year of further growth and expansion for Scholl shoes in Thailand. The company aligns with its global ambitions under the new slogan “Aesthetic Comfort” by transitioning from comfort shoes with ‘’love every step’’ to ‘’ The Most Aesthetic comfort shoes’’, which focus on shoe that combines the technology infused comfort expertise of Scholl with a contemporary design approach.

Jinna Asvahem and Marc Wachholz

Designed in Italy, the company will introduce of around 90 Scholl shoes that features modern designs suitable for any look or style, catering to the diverse lifestyle needs of both women and men, including genderless designs, featuring slide sandals, fashionable slingback sandals, and sneakers. All under the committed to sustainability, utilizing environmentally-friendly materials in its production processes.

Founded by Dr. William Scholl, a pioneer in foot health, the brand has ever since consistently prioritized the well-being of its customers by seamlessly blending medical expertise with contemporary design.

‘’The commitment to crafting footwear that not only complements various lifestyles but also promotes foot health is what sets the brand aside,” he said.

At present, about 50% of Scholl shoe’s customer ages 35 years old up, while the portion of customer age below 35 years old is minimal at only 5-10%. With imaging transformation, the company expects the portion of customer age below 35 years old, will increase to 10-20% of the portfolio within the next 2-3 years.

Leveraging its ‘heritage’ as a pioneer in health footwear, the seamlessly transitioned into a fashion-forward brand, providing ‘aesthetic comfort’ with chic designs are suitable for any occasion.

“Recognizing the growing importance of foot health among the new generations, we address the more interest in stylish options for comfortable shoes suitable for various lifestyles, such as work or travel,’’ Jinna Asvahem, the company’s managing director, said, adding that why the company has given more importance to recruiting young generation who age below 35 years old.

At present Scholl shoe was designed using premium-grade materials, ensuring durability, comfort, and support for every lifestyle with price range is set between 650 and 5,000 baht.

Scholl has sales of 666 million baht in Thailand last year and expects to reach 710 million baht this year. To achieve its goal and continuous growth, the company will expand its distribution channels to enhance convenience for customers and plan to tap into the Asia-Pacific markets.

Presently, Scholl shoes in Thailand are distributed through three main channels. They include over 150 retail counters in leading department stores nationwide, more than 100 major distributors, and five official e-commerce platforms, including Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop, Central Online, and the Scholl website.

Thailand’s footwear market is estimated to be worth of 98 billion baht last year, 4-5% higher than the year before. The average growth of shoe market during 2019-2023 had minus growth with 1.2 %, compared to 6% for Scholl brand. With the market recovery from the pandemic, it is expected that the footwear market will grow by 6% this year.