Ugg boots -- originally designed to warm the tootsies of chilly Australian surfers -- are experiencing a renaissance after being seen on some of the most famous feet in the world. Celebrity screen queens Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson have been snapped wearing them in their various incarnations.
Canterbury Leather International is airfreighting 10,000 pairs of the Christchurch-made boots to its distributor to meet anticipated demand.
Douglas Price, managing director, said after Oprah featured the Ugg boots about four years ago shoppers headed down to Nordstrom's and immediately bought all the stock. This time, retailers will be prepared.
The 30-year-old business had been making Uggs for nearly 18 years and orders were now at a new high, he said.
"They are going brilliantly well."
Mr Price said the company was managing to hold its own against products from other countries -- mostly because of the skills staff had accrued.
"We are facing strong competition from Third World countries like China," he said.
Despite the upswing, Mr Price said all exporters were being squeezed by the rampant Kiwi dollar which reinforced the vulnerability of New Zealand businesses to exchange rates.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Ugg! Charity cops the boot
But last month a letter from lawyers representing US footwear company Deckers Corporation demanded Westhaven stop trading under its shop-front name, The Uggs Shop, or be sued.
Westhaven production manager Anthony Sullivan said the legal pursuit could crush the charity.
Deckers bought an Australian boot company and registered the name "ugg boots" five years ago.
The Melbourne-based lawyers acting on behalf of Deckers Corporation did not return The Sunday Mail's calls.
A CHARITY organisation has been threatened with legal action if it continues to use the name "ugg boot".
The non-profit Westhaven Industries employs 65 intellectually disabled people to make sheepskin boots in Dubbo, NSW.
Westhaven production manager Anthony Sullivan said the legal pursuit could crush the charity.
Deckers bought an Australian boot company and registered the name "ugg boots" five years ago.
The Melbourne-based lawyers acting on behalf of Deckers Corporation did not return The Sunday Mail's calls.
A CHARITY organisation has been threatened with legal action if it continues to use the name "ugg boot".
The non-profit Westhaven Industries employs 65 intellectually disabled people to make sheepskin boots in Dubbo, NSW.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
NICE FIT IN VICTORY UGG FEATURE STORY
In 2003, the McDougalls had appealed to the Australian Government's trademark regulator, IP Australia, claiming that UGGS - originally an abbreviation of ugly, so it is believed - was a generic term. This week they received the news that IP Australia agreed. The name is to be removed from the register of trademarks. Australian manufacturers can once again call their UGG BOOTS.
Bronwyn McDougall said she and her husband were thrilled. ''This is a moral victory for all Australians,'' she said.
There was elation, too, in Maitland, where the Mortel family has been producing ugg boots for nearly 50 years. Frank Mortel, now 73, set up a tiny sheepskin factory after emigrating from Holland in 1958, bringing with him a few sewing machines.
Descended from six generations of orthopaedic bootmakers, he made his first pair of fur-lined slippers for his wife, Rita, who had complained of cold feet. He then began to manufacture the slippers and boots commercially.
''We called them UGGS from the start,'' said Mortel, who believes that Deckers was ''trying to frighten people off''. His son, Tony, who runs the family's factory, turning out 16,000 pairs of ugg boots a year, agrees. ''People around the world know them as uggs,'' he said.
So how did a quintessentially Australian product end up being hijacked by a corporation based in Santa Barbara, California? To understand it, you have to go back 35 years.
In 1971, a local surf champion, Shane Steadman, decided to capitalise on the popularity of uggs among Australian and visiting US wave riders. He began selling the boots and registered the name. Then in 1979, Brian Smith, another Australian surfer with a sharp business eye, went to New York with a few pairs in his rucksack. He set up a company, Ugg Holdings, registered the Ugg trademark in 25 countries and sold out to Deckers in 1995. As far as the US company was concerned, it now owned the ugg boot, and in 1999 it sent out warning letters to Australian traders.
Bronwyn McDougall said she and her husband were thrilled. ''This is a moral victory for all Australians,'' she said.
There was elation, too, in Maitland, where the Mortel family has been producing ugg boots for nearly 50 years. Frank Mortel, now 73, set up a tiny sheepskin factory after emigrating from Holland in 1958, bringing with him a few sewing machines.
Descended from six generations of orthopaedic bootmakers, he made his first pair of fur-lined slippers for his wife, Rita, who had complained of cold feet. He then began to manufacture the slippers and boots commercially.
''We called them UGGS from the start,'' said Mortel, who believes that Deckers was ''trying to frighten people off''. His son, Tony, who runs the family's factory, turning out 16,000 pairs of ugg boots a year, agrees. ''People around the world know them as uggs,'' he said.
So how did a quintessentially Australian product end up being hijacked by a corporation based in Santa Barbara, California? To understand it, you have to go back 35 years.
In 1971, a local surf champion, Shane Steadman, decided to capitalise on the popularity of uggs among Australian and visiting US wave riders. He began selling the boots and registered the name. Then in 1979, Brian Smith, another Australian surfer with a sharp business eye, went to New York with a few pairs in his rucksack. He set up a company, Ugg Holdings, registered the Ugg trademark in 25 countries and sold out to Deckers in 1995. As far as the US company was concerned, it now owned the ugg boot, and in 1999 it sent out warning letters to Australian traders.
NEWS AND FEATURES; News Review
With the 'umble ugg now fashion footwear, there are new moves to get the name back from the Americans who hijacked it. Kirsty Needham reports.
It's the stretch that makes sheepskin so hard to work with, reflects Bronwyn McDougall, who sits with her daughter stitching thousands of pairs of "genuine Australian" UGG BOOTS each year. "Ugg boots are not made on fancy machines. They are virtually a cottage industry. Sheepskin is very variable and needs the human touch," says the 60-year-old. Her husband, Bruce, mans the glue pot to hand-lay soles in an old suburban house-cum-workshop in Kenwick, Western Australia.
Long relegated to somewhere under Australian beds as scruffy suburban slipper wear, the ugg boot will emerge in an entirely new light this winter. Department stores are stocking embroidered, lace-trimmed and pastel versions of the woolly stompers, which are now worn by teenage girls, knee-high. A Myer fashion buyer, Karen Brewster, says: "It will be a key look this winter, worn with mini-skirts and jeans. We have expanded our range dramatically."
The UGGS new cachet is being driven by the the way the boots have been adopted as street fashion overseas. But millions of dollars in sales have brought Australia's "cottage industry" into collision with the hard-headed world of international fashion.
The McDougalls started their family business Uggs-n-Rugs 26 years ago, selling UGG BOOTS at a farmers' market stall. In 1996 they were among the first wave of small businesses to venture online. International sales through their website were steady and mostly to men.
That suddenly changed three years ago, when the ugg began stepping out on celebrity legs. Madonna, Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey led the Hollywood charge. By the next northern winter the craze had spread, with British model Kate Moss and Sex in the City's Sarah Jessica Parker among those now sporting Ugg Australia boots made by an American footwear company, Deckers, which was trading on the legend of Australian surf culture.
All of a sudden, young American women were hitting the internet en masse in search of Australian sheepskin ugg boots, and small businesses like the McDougalls' were at the centre of an international fashion boom.
The online demand reached fever pitch three months ago when Deckers ran out. Bidding on auction websites for the then rare Ugg Australia boots (carrying the not-so-ocker titles "Fluff Momma" and "Sundance") topped $US500 (about $650).
From his Sheepskin Factory in Maitland, NSW, Tony Mortel began offering an alternative, "Australian-made ugg boots from Mortels", and sold hundreds on Ebay for up to $US250 before being suddenly kicked off. Ebay said it was barring Mortel whose father began making ugg boots in 1958 because Deckers had claimed trademark infringement.
According to the American company, there was only one "ugg boot", and it was theirs.
It's the stretch that makes sheepskin so hard to work with, reflects Bronwyn McDougall, who sits with her daughter stitching thousands of pairs of "genuine Australian" UGG BOOTS each year. "Ugg boots are not made on fancy machines. They are virtually a cottage industry. Sheepskin is very variable and needs the human touch," says the 60-year-old. Her husband, Bruce, mans the glue pot to hand-lay soles in an old suburban house-cum-workshop in Kenwick, Western Australia.
Long relegated to somewhere under Australian beds as scruffy suburban slipper wear, the ugg boot will emerge in an entirely new light this winter. Department stores are stocking embroidered, lace-trimmed and pastel versions of the woolly stompers, which are now worn by teenage girls, knee-high. A Myer fashion buyer, Karen Brewster, says: "It will be a key look this winter, worn with mini-skirts and jeans. We have expanded our range dramatically."
The UGGS new cachet is being driven by the the way the boots have been adopted as street fashion overseas. But millions of dollars in sales have brought Australia's "cottage industry" into collision with the hard-headed world of international fashion.
The McDougalls started their family business Uggs-n-Rugs 26 years ago, selling UGG BOOTS at a farmers' market stall. In 1996 they were among the first wave of small businesses to venture online. International sales through their website were steady and mostly to men.
That suddenly changed three years ago, when the ugg began stepping out on celebrity legs. Madonna, Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey led the Hollywood charge. By the next northern winter the craze had spread, with British model Kate Moss and Sex in the City's Sarah Jessica Parker among those now sporting Ugg Australia boots made by an American footwear company, Deckers, which was trading on the legend of Australian surf culture.
All of a sudden, young American women were hitting the internet en masse in search of Australian sheepskin ugg boots, and small businesses like the McDougalls' were at the centre of an international fashion boom.
The online demand reached fever pitch three months ago when Deckers ran out. Bidding on auction websites for the then rare Ugg Australia boots (carrying the not-so-ocker titles "Fluff Momma" and "Sundance") topped $US500 (about $650).
From his Sheepskin Factory in Maitland, NSW, Tony Mortel began offering an alternative, "Australian-made ugg boots from Mortels", and sold hundreds on Ebay for up to $US250 before being suddenly kicked off. Ebay said it was barring Mortel whose father began making ugg boots in 1958 because Deckers had claimed trademark infringement.
According to the American company, there was only one "ugg boot", and it was theirs.
Friday, May 8, 2009
What to wear
This week:
Uggs
What are they?
Made of sheepskin, Australian Ugg boots are to this winter what the Westwood pirate boot was to last - the flat boot for urban tribalists. The only difference is they keep your feet super snug.
Why are they in the news?
Not content with producing the most luxurious unisex boots, UggAustralia has now turned them into works of art in a
US-generated project, Art and Sole, with the help of celebrities including Hugh Grant, Lucy Liu, Brooke Shields, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Heather Locklear, Minnie Driver, and Mariah Carey. The project's aim is to auction the boots and raise money for The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and Oceana, a non-profit, international advocacy organisation created to protect the world's oceans.
Who's wearing them?
Absolutely everyone, from Kate Hudson to Madonna. Kids' sizes and new colours including baby pink and baby blue are being introduced in the UK early next year to meet the huge demand.
What do I wear them with?
That's the beauty of Uggs, they look fantastic with anything from your biggest winter coat to your teensy weensiest bikini - seriously, you'll wear them every season. There's not so much scope for you guys, however, stick to denims with yours.
Where can I get them?
The traditional Ugg boots are available in adult sizes only in the UK and cost (pounds) 140 (short length) and (pounds) 170 (long length). Stockist inquiries:0800 0725164 www.uggaustralia.com
Uggs
What are they?
Made of sheepskin, Australian Ugg boots are to this winter what the Westwood pirate boot was to last - the flat boot for urban tribalists. The only difference is they keep your feet super snug.
Why are they in the news?
Not content with producing the most luxurious unisex boots, UggAustralia has now turned them into works of art in a
US-generated project, Art and Sole, with the help of celebrities including Hugh Grant, Lucy Liu, Brooke Shields, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Heather Locklear, Minnie Driver, and Mariah Carey. The project's aim is to auction the boots and raise money for The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and Oceana, a non-profit, international advocacy organisation created to protect the world's oceans.
Who's wearing them?
Absolutely everyone, from Kate Hudson to Madonna. Kids' sizes and new colours including baby pink and baby blue are being introduced in the UK early next year to meet the huge demand.
What do I wear them with?
That's the beauty of Uggs, they look fantastic with anything from your biggest winter coat to your teensy weensiest bikini - seriously, you'll wear them every season. There's not so much scope for you guys, however, stick to denims with yours.
Where can I get them?
The traditional Ugg boots are available in adult sizes only in the UK and cost (pounds) 140 (short length) and (pounds) 170 (long length). Stockist inquiries:0800 0725164 www.uggaustralia.com
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Aussie brands get off on the right boot in US market
No one could have guessed that the humble Aussie ugg boot would one day become the model for all local companies trying to push their brands overseas.
But according to Keith Reinhard, the American chairman of global advertising giant DDB Worldwide, the fluffy footwear embodies all of what is loved and envied about Australians overseas.
In Melbourne last week to address local advertisers and business leaders, Mr Reinhard said it was Australians' perceived "naturalness, laid-back lifestyle and certain irreverence" that Americans were most drawn to and, more importantly, could be sold on.
"I think it's probably a great time for an Australian brand to enter our market," he said.
"Americans are a little more `buttoned-up', a little less natural in some ways and I think there's now a mood in US culture for some lightness."
Though Mr Reinhard understands that not all Australians wrestle crocodiles and ride kangaroos to work, he said local businesses needed to be able to modify their branding to succeed overseas.
"It's a pure marketing decision. We're not saying the brand has to be an accurate reflection of the way Australia really is, we're saying these are the qualities associated with Australia that are appealing to Americans," he said.
"My understanding is that ugg boots are not at all a fashion item here, that you guys wouldn't even go outside in them. But the Australian qualities caught on and it became very, very hot in the US."
Mr Reinhard said it was little wonder that the company that first got a whiff of the potential ugg boot pandemonium was US group Deckers Outdoor Corp.
Having bought the Ugg Australia company from local surfer Brian Smith in 1995 and then the naming rights to the brand, Deckers says it sold $US32 million ($A42 million) of ugg boots in 2003 and credits ugg-mania with helping to boost its shares from $US4.21 a year ago to at $US25.52 now. Though a craze like the ugg boot would be tough to replicate, Mr Reinhard said virtually all other popular Australian brands - "except Vegemite" - could make it in the US.
His advice to those wanting to crack the US market: "Firstly, the brand should be well established here before you try it out elsewhere. Then consider those things that Americans really like about Australians and figure out how they apply to your brand."
Mr Reinhard said Australians also needed to be aware of the differences in marketing culture between the two countries and which channels the brand would work in.
"I would think you'd want to work with a partner who knows the United States, who understands the consumer, the distribution channels and what media to advertise through.
"You need to know how to get your product into Walmart."
But according to Keith Reinhard, the American chairman of global advertising giant DDB Worldwide, the fluffy footwear embodies all of what is loved and envied about Australians overseas.
In Melbourne last week to address local advertisers and business leaders, Mr Reinhard said it was Australians' perceived "naturalness, laid-back lifestyle and certain irreverence" that Americans were most drawn to and, more importantly, could be sold on.
"I think it's probably a great time for an Australian brand to enter our market," he said.
"Americans are a little more `buttoned-up', a little less natural in some ways and I think there's now a mood in US culture for some lightness."
Though Mr Reinhard understands that not all Australians wrestle crocodiles and ride kangaroos to work, he said local businesses needed to be able to modify their branding to succeed overseas.
"It's a pure marketing decision. We're not saying the brand has to be an accurate reflection of the way Australia really is, we're saying these are the qualities associated with Australia that are appealing to Americans," he said.
"My understanding is that ugg boots are not at all a fashion item here, that you guys wouldn't even go outside in them. But the Australian qualities caught on and it became very, very hot in the US."
Mr Reinhard said it was little wonder that the company that first got a whiff of the potential ugg boot pandemonium was US group Deckers Outdoor Corp.
Having bought the Ugg Australia company from local surfer Brian Smith in 1995 and then the naming rights to the brand, Deckers says it sold $US32 million ($A42 million) of ugg boots in 2003 and credits ugg-mania with helping to boost its shares from $US4.21 a year ago to at $US25.52 now. Though a craze like the ugg boot would be tough to replicate, Mr Reinhard said virtually all other popular Australian brands - "except Vegemite" - could make it in the US.
His advice to those wanting to crack the US market: "Firstly, the brand should be well established here before you try it out elsewhere. Then consider those things that Americans really like about Australians and figure out how they apply to your brand."
Mr Reinhard said Australians also needed to be aware of the differences in marketing culture between the two countries and which channels the brand would work in.
"I would think you'd want to work with a partner who knows the United States, who understands the consumer, the distribution channels and what media to advertise through.
"You need to know how to get your product into Walmart."
Uggs, the trend that refuses to die
They were the boots to be seen in, but that was two years ago. So why are they still topping the bestseller list, asks Claudia Croft
For all its mystique and glamour, fashion can be ploddingly predictable. Its trend cycle has a brutal and unrelenting regularity. If animal-print, ankle boots or leggings are hot one season, you can bet your Louboutins that it will be sartorial suicide to be seen in them the next. The logic behind this remorseless routine is clear: if fashion didn't render the majority of its output obsolete at the end of every season, nobody would buy anything new, the industry would topple and we would all end up wearing utilitarian boiler suits.
But every so often, a fad comes along that breaks the system, because it refuses to die. Uggs are one such renegade. Currently, they are the second-bestselling shoe brand in Selfridges, beating Gucci, Prada and Marc Jacobs and being pipped only by the top seller and red-hot heel king, Christian Louboutin. "We are selling 30% more than we did last year," confirms Sebastian Manes, head of accessories at Selfridges. The tall black version, a little higher than the classic Ugg, is selling out fastest, he says. Over at Harvey Nichols, staff are also reporting a rush. Uggs itself is reporting that this year's sales are more than double last year's. Meanwhile, Kate Moss is photographed padding about the Cotswolds in a battered old pair, Anna Friel waxes lyrical in interviews about hers and Sienna can't seem to break her habit. Not bad for a boot that should have gone the way of the dodo.
This continuing Ugg mania goes against all fashion logic, which demands not only that hot trends be cruelly culled, but that they stay dead. It was only two years ago that the comfy Aussie boots reached critical mass -worn by A-listers, Wags, yummy mummies and trendy teens alike -so the current revival seems to have happened with indecent haste.
"When you buy them, you become addicted, because they are so comfortable and practical," says Manes. "What is the alternative?" asks Joanna Jeffreys of Harvey Nichols, who believes that women are simply not ready to give up their favourite boots on a fashion whim without something equally practical and comfortable to replace them. "Nothing else has come along to fill the gap between a welly and a trainer, and they are so comfy," she says.
But if you think that gives you carte blanche to pull on your Uggs for a fancy dinner date, or to wear them with a sexy dress, as many did first time around, you'd be wrong. The trend now comes with caveats. To avoid looking two years out of date, play to the Uggs comfy credentials, not its high-fashion ones. "It's more a lifestyle thing than a trend thing now," cautions Manes. Jeffreys agrees. "They are perfect for popping out for a newspaper, or for walking the dog in the rain," she says. "But they are unforgivable with a dress and tights -that's when you should be doing a biker boot."
Uggs were, of course, around for years before they became a white-hot fashion trend. Now, it seems, they are reverting to their original purpose of being the best comfy boots you can buy -not the trendiest. This time around, Uggs are seen as a covetable basic, as integral to a woman's wardrobe as a great pair of jeans or the perfect white T-shirt
For all its mystique and glamour, fashion can be ploddingly predictable. Its trend cycle has a brutal and unrelenting regularity. If animal-print, ankle boots or leggings are hot one season, you can bet your Louboutins that it will be sartorial suicide to be seen in them the next. The logic behind this remorseless routine is clear: if fashion didn't render the majority of its output obsolete at the end of every season, nobody would buy anything new, the industry would topple and we would all end up wearing utilitarian boiler suits.
But every so often, a fad comes along that breaks the system, because it refuses to die. Uggs are one such renegade. Currently, they are the second-bestselling shoe brand in Selfridges, beating Gucci, Prada and Marc Jacobs and being pipped only by the top seller and red-hot heel king, Christian Louboutin. "We are selling 30% more than we did last year," confirms Sebastian Manes, head of accessories at Selfridges. The tall black version, a little higher than the classic Ugg, is selling out fastest, he says. Over at Harvey Nichols, staff are also reporting a rush. Uggs itself is reporting that this year's sales are more than double last year's. Meanwhile, Kate Moss is photographed padding about the Cotswolds in a battered old pair, Anna Friel waxes lyrical in interviews about hers and Sienna can't seem to break her habit. Not bad for a boot that should have gone the way of the dodo.
This continuing Ugg mania goes against all fashion logic, which demands not only that hot trends be cruelly culled, but that they stay dead. It was only two years ago that the comfy Aussie boots reached critical mass -worn by A-listers, Wags, yummy mummies and trendy teens alike -so the current revival seems to have happened with indecent haste.
"When you buy them, you become addicted, because they are so comfortable and practical," says Manes. "What is the alternative?" asks Joanna Jeffreys of Harvey Nichols, who believes that women are simply not ready to give up their favourite boots on a fashion whim without something equally practical and comfortable to replace them. "Nothing else has come along to fill the gap between a welly and a trainer, and they are so comfy," she says.
But if you think that gives you carte blanche to pull on your Uggs for a fancy dinner date, or to wear them with a sexy dress, as many did first time around, you'd be wrong. The trend now comes with caveats. To avoid looking two years out of date, play to the Uggs comfy credentials, not its high-fashion ones. "It's more a lifestyle thing than a trend thing now," cautions Manes. Jeffreys agrees. "They are perfect for popping out for a newspaper, or for walking the dog in the rain," she says. "But they are unforgivable with a dress and tights -that's when you should be doing a biker boot."
Uggs were, of course, around for years before they became a white-hot fashion trend. Now, it seems, they are reverting to their original purpose of being the best comfy boots you can buy -not the trendiest. This time around, Uggs are seen as a covetable basic, as integral to a woman's wardrobe as a great pair of jeans or the perfect white T-shirt
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Blue Box Blues
Tiffany has stopped supplying its products to retailers, but many jewelers are finding that the crisis has a silver lining.
photos omitted
What would you do if the entire contents of two display cases suddenly disappeared? That's the question 265 former U.S. accounts of Tiffany & Co. are asking themselves. When Tiffany halted sales from its trade division eight months ago to focus on store development, it left a major void in the inventories of those 265 retailers, some of whom relied on Tiffany products for as much as 20% of their business. And jewelers miss the venerable blue box--the classic emblem of the Tiffany purchase.
But U.S. jewelers--and those in Europe, too, as of July--are learning to cope. "I'd prefer to sell the line, but there's nothing we can do about it," says Tim Greve, president of Carl Greve Jewelers in Portland, Ore., which sold Tiffany products for 14 years. "But the upside is that now I'm finding new business in different areas," he adds.
Life after Tiffany. Jewelers suffering from Tiffany withdrawal have had two options: brand their own merchandise or pick up comparable lines. Most jewelers have made a virtue of necessity and transformed the predicament into an opportunity to strengthen their store's brand and identity or to offer unique--sometimes exclusive--products to their customers.
When confronted with Tiffany enthusiasts seeking "blue-boxed" items, jewelers explain the products' absence and suggest comparable pieces. Marc Green, vice chairman of Lux, Bond & Green in West Hartfield, Conn., is delighted with the opportunity to step up company branding efforts, despite a lifelong relationship with Tiffany. "Now we're constantly marketing ourselves," he says. Since Lux, Bond & Green products replaced Tiffany stock at Green's store in January, sales have remained steady, he reports.
Retailers who aren't interested in store-branded pieces but want to carry products that are equivalent to Tiffany's have plenty of suppliers to choose from, including Robert Lee Morris, Dobbs Boston, Links of London, and Pianegonda. Some jewelers cluster such lines with other designer merchandise. Others dedicate whole cases to new lines or create in-store boutiques for them. Prices of items from Tiffany's-alternative companies range from $40 to $1,800 keystone. Pieces include two-tone stainless-steel mesh and 18k gold jewelry sterling silver jewelry with colored gemstones such as amethyst and aquamarine sterling silver Rolo-link bracelets and snake chains and baby-related items, such as cups and pacifier holders (an item Tiffany doesn't make).
photo omitted
Carrying a high-end sterling silver line is essential for jewelers in high-traffic areas such as strip malls. Most buyers of sterling silver items want high-quality products at reasonable prices--meaning $500 or less per piece, say jewelers, similar to the prices mass-market consumers are willing to pay.
Suppliers to the post-Tiffany market are faring well, with some reporting business increases as high as 70% over the past six months. Major suppliers include:
photos omitted
Dobbs Boston, Gloucester, Mass. Company president Bart Schick notes that the company has 50 items that are similar to Tiffany's products. The firm, which makes sterling silver jewelry, reported a sales increase of 30% (or 60 former Tiffany accounts) at press time. Packaging includes white boxes with navy-colored velvet lining as well as gray pouches and boxes. Call (800) 233-6227 for more information.
Links of London, London, England. Among the company's offerings are sterling silver jewelry gifts, including crystal items baby goods, such as sterling silver cups and two-tone gold vermeil and silver jewelry. The firm offers a turnkey marketing program for jewelers to set up a complete in-store Links of London boutique. Packaging includes black velvet bags, tan boxes and lids trimmed with navy, and tan bows and matching bags trimmed with navy. Links' first U.S. store will open on Madison Avenue in New York this fall international sales manager Debbie Wagstaff tells JCK the firm's goal is to have 20 vendors in key U.S. cities by year's end and 40 by the end of 2001. Call (877) 795-4657 for details.
Mikimoto, U.S. headquarters in New York City. This maker of giftware and baby items (picture frames, crystal, pens, compacts, and sterling silver baby cups, rattles, and spoons) also makes a line of handbags. The company reports "double digit" sales increases over the past six months. Packaging is navy or white boxes with silver or gold ribbons. Call (800) 223-4008.
Pianegonda, U.S. headquarters in New York City. This Italian company has enjoyed sales increases averaging 70% a month since October 1999, when its products--sterling silver and colored gemstone jewelry--made their U.S. debut. "Entertainers are wearing our pieces," says Aaron Mink, American distributor and division director for the company. According to Mink, Jada Pinkett will wear Pianegonda jewelry in the next Spike Lee movie. Packaging is navy blue boxes with silver lettering and blue and gray bows. Call (305) 672-8476 for details.
Robert Lee Morris, New York City. At press time, the company, which produces two-tone gold and sterling silver Tiffany jewelry, sterling bowls, candlesticks, and platters, had picked up 15 former Tiffany accounts "with little effort," says Lisa Roman, vice president of sales and marketing. "We expect many more after The JCK Show in Las Vegas," she adds. Packaging consists of black pouches adorned with the silver RLM logo and a "romance" card about Morris and the inspirations for his designs. Black textured paper bags and boxes featuring the RLM logo also are available. Call (800) 829-8444 for details.
photos omitted
Syratech, Boston, Mass. Syratech is the parent company of Wallace Silversmiths, International Silver Co., and Towle Silversmiths. It makes sterling silver bracelets, baby cups, picture frames, and giftware including flatware, bowls, and candlesticks in sterling silver as well as in crystal. Sales in the past six months are up 20%, says Marshall Steed, a sales manager for the company. Packaging consists of navy, green, or white gift boxes. For details, call (617) 561-2200.
The John Hardy Collection, New York City. Hardy designs two-tone silver and gold jewelry as well as some gift items and flatware, including sterling silver cufflinks, silver and palmwood letter openers, goblets, bowls, utensils, and baby items such as silver cups, bracelets, frames, and spoons. Sales in the past six months are up, according to the company exact figures were unavailable at press time. Packaging consists of different-colored boxes wrapped in textured cotton with beige on top and black on the bottom and a pink and cream combination for the baby collection. For more information, call (800) 2-HARDY.
photo omitted
Tous, U.S. headquarters, Walnut Creek, Calif. The company makes jewelry in gold, two-tone gold, stainless-steel mesh, and some in sterling silver. It also offers giftware, baby items, and leather products. Although at press time, Tous had picked up only two former Tiffany Necklacesaccounts since January, jewelers are setting up roomy in-store boutiques to house the diverse Tous line. "We even lured a former Tiffany sales representative to work with us," says Sharon Williams, the company's national sales director. "She left a secure post at Tiffany's to sell our line because she was so excited and confident about its success in the States." Packaging for stainless-steel and gold jewelry consists of teal boxes lined with white velvet and white ribbons featuring the Tous name in teal. Giftware and sterling silver pieces are placed in reusable silver-colored "bubble" packs with Velcro seals and "Tous" in red lettering. Jewelry comes with a certificate of authenticity. Call (925) 280-5444 for information.
photo omitted
Tiffany, meanwhile, expects to maintain an annual growth rate of 12% to 15%. "Our net earnings are up 88% in the first quarter of 2000," notes Mark Aaron, the company's vice president of investor relations.
TIFFANY'S TOP SELLERS
According to retailers who previously sold Tiffany goods, these were the best-selling Tiffany items:
* Baby gifts, such as sterling silver cups.
* Sterling silver jewelry of all types.
* Sterling silver "Return to Tiffany" charm tags.
* Tabletop gifts, such as leaded crystal.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
The Tiffany brand is "irreplaceable," said a New Jersey jeweler to Bart Schick, president of Dobbs Boston in Gloucester, Mass., while placing an order for sterling silver jewelry in January. Schick understands why retailers are sad to see the Tiffany's relationship end. "Their merchandise is excellent," he acknowledges.
Most of the companies mentioned as alternatives to Tiffany don't fully measure up in every product area. The downsides:
Dobbs Boston. Doesn't offer baby items, such as sterling silver cups, rattles, and frames or giftware, including crystal, porcelain, and flatware.
Link of London. Has a limited selection of crystal barware and porcelain.
Mikimoto. Its line of sterling silver jewelry is sold only in department stores.
Pianegonda. Doesn't offer baby items or giftware, including crystal, porcelain, and flatware.
Robert Lee Morris. Doesn't offer giftware (including crystal, procelain, pens, flatware, or pocket knives) or baby goods.
Syratech. Doesn't make sterling silver rings, necklaces, pendants, key rings, cufflinks, or porcelain giftware.
Tous. Doesn't offer baby cups, crystal, or glassware.
The John Hardy Collection. Has a limited selection of crystal and does not make porcelain giftware, though select items do feature exotic wood accents.
All companies. Not one secures treasures in the sine qua non of the Tiffany's shopping experience--the pale blue
photos omitted
What would you do if the entire contents of two display cases suddenly disappeared? That's the question 265 former U.S. accounts of Tiffany & Co. are asking themselves. When Tiffany halted sales from its trade division eight months ago to focus on store development, it left a major void in the inventories of those 265 retailers, some of whom relied on Tiffany products for as much as 20% of their business. And jewelers miss the venerable blue box--the classic emblem of the Tiffany purchase.
But U.S. jewelers--and those in Europe, too, as of July--are learning to cope. "I'd prefer to sell the line, but there's nothing we can do about it," says Tim Greve, president of Carl Greve Jewelers in Portland, Ore., which sold Tiffany products for 14 years. "But the upside is that now I'm finding new business in different areas," he adds.
Life after Tiffany. Jewelers suffering from Tiffany withdrawal have had two options: brand their own merchandise or pick up comparable lines. Most jewelers have made a virtue of necessity and transformed the predicament into an opportunity to strengthen their store's brand and identity or to offer unique--sometimes exclusive--products to their customers.
When confronted with Tiffany enthusiasts seeking "blue-boxed" items, jewelers explain the products' absence and suggest comparable pieces. Marc Green, vice chairman of Lux, Bond & Green in West Hartfield, Conn., is delighted with the opportunity to step up company branding efforts, despite a lifelong relationship with Tiffany. "Now we're constantly marketing ourselves," he says. Since Lux, Bond & Green products replaced Tiffany stock at Green's store in January, sales have remained steady, he reports.
Retailers who aren't interested in store-branded pieces but want to carry products that are equivalent to Tiffany's have plenty of suppliers to choose from, including Robert Lee Morris, Dobbs Boston, Links of London, and Pianegonda. Some jewelers cluster such lines with other designer merchandise. Others dedicate whole cases to new lines or create in-store boutiques for them. Prices of items from Tiffany's-alternative companies range from $40 to $1,800 keystone. Pieces include two-tone stainless-steel mesh and 18k gold jewelry sterling silver jewelry with colored gemstones such as amethyst and aquamarine sterling silver Rolo-link bracelets and snake chains and baby-related items, such as cups and pacifier holders (an item Tiffany doesn't make).
photo omitted
Carrying a high-end sterling silver line is essential for jewelers in high-traffic areas such as strip malls. Most buyers of sterling silver items want high-quality products at reasonable prices--meaning $500 or less per piece, say jewelers, similar to the prices mass-market consumers are willing to pay.
Suppliers to the post-Tiffany market are faring well, with some reporting business increases as high as 70% over the past six months. Major suppliers include:
photos omitted
Dobbs Boston, Gloucester, Mass. Company president Bart Schick notes that the company has 50 items that are similar to Tiffany's products. The firm, which makes sterling silver jewelry, reported a sales increase of 30% (or 60 former Tiffany accounts) at press time. Packaging includes white boxes with navy-colored velvet lining as well as gray pouches and boxes. Call (800) 233-6227 for more information.
Links of London, London, England. Among the company's offerings are sterling silver jewelry gifts, including crystal items baby goods, such as sterling silver cups and two-tone gold vermeil and silver jewelry. The firm offers a turnkey marketing program for jewelers to set up a complete in-store Links of London boutique. Packaging includes black velvet bags, tan boxes and lids trimmed with navy, and tan bows and matching bags trimmed with navy. Links' first U.S. store will open on Madison Avenue in New York this fall international sales manager Debbie Wagstaff tells JCK the firm's goal is to have 20 vendors in key U.S. cities by year's end and 40 by the end of 2001. Call (877) 795-4657 for details.
Mikimoto, U.S. headquarters in New York City. This maker of giftware and baby items (picture frames, crystal, pens, compacts, and sterling silver baby cups, rattles, and spoons) also makes a line of handbags. The company reports "double digit" sales increases over the past six months. Packaging is navy or white boxes with silver or gold ribbons. Call (800) 223-4008.
Pianegonda, U.S. headquarters in New York City. This Italian company has enjoyed sales increases averaging 70% a month since October 1999, when its products--sterling silver and colored gemstone jewelry--made their U.S. debut. "Entertainers are wearing our pieces," says Aaron Mink, American distributor and division director for the company. According to Mink, Jada Pinkett will wear Pianegonda jewelry in the next Spike Lee movie. Packaging is navy blue boxes with silver lettering and blue and gray bows. Call (305) 672-8476 for details.
Robert Lee Morris, New York City. At press time, the company, which produces two-tone gold and sterling silver Tiffany jewelry, sterling bowls, candlesticks, and platters, had picked up 15 former Tiffany accounts "with little effort," says Lisa Roman, vice president of sales and marketing. "We expect many more after The JCK Show in Las Vegas," she adds. Packaging consists of black pouches adorned with the silver RLM logo and a "romance" card about Morris and the inspirations for his designs. Black textured paper bags and boxes featuring the RLM logo also are available. Call (800) 829-8444 for details.
photos omitted
Syratech, Boston, Mass. Syratech is the parent company of Wallace Silversmiths, International Silver Co., and Towle Silversmiths. It makes sterling silver bracelets, baby cups, picture frames, and giftware including flatware, bowls, and candlesticks in sterling silver as well as in crystal. Sales in the past six months are up 20%, says Marshall Steed, a sales manager for the company. Packaging consists of navy, green, or white gift boxes. For details, call (617) 561-2200.
The John Hardy Collection, New York City. Hardy designs two-tone silver and gold jewelry as well as some gift items and flatware, including sterling silver cufflinks, silver and palmwood letter openers, goblets, bowls, utensils, and baby items such as silver cups, bracelets, frames, and spoons. Sales in the past six months are up, according to the company exact figures were unavailable at press time. Packaging consists of different-colored boxes wrapped in textured cotton with beige on top and black on the bottom and a pink and cream combination for the baby collection. For more information, call (800) 2-HARDY.
photo omitted
Tous, U.S. headquarters, Walnut Creek, Calif. The company makes jewelry in gold, two-tone gold, stainless-steel mesh, and some in sterling silver. It also offers giftware, baby items, and leather products. Although at press time, Tous had picked up only two former Tiffany Necklacesaccounts since January, jewelers are setting up roomy in-store boutiques to house the diverse Tous line. "We even lured a former Tiffany sales representative to work with us," says Sharon Williams, the company's national sales director. "She left a secure post at Tiffany's to sell our line because she was so excited and confident about its success in the States." Packaging for stainless-steel and gold jewelry consists of teal boxes lined with white velvet and white ribbons featuring the Tous name in teal. Giftware and sterling silver pieces are placed in reusable silver-colored "bubble" packs with Velcro seals and "Tous" in red lettering. Jewelry comes with a certificate of authenticity. Call (925) 280-5444 for information.
photo omitted
Tiffany, meanwhile, expects to maintain an annual growth rate of 12% to 15%. "Our net earnings are up 88% in the first quarter of 2000," notes Mark Aaron, the company's vice president of investor relations.
TIFFANY'S TOP SELLERS
According to retailers who previously sold Tiffany goods, these were the best-selling Tiffany items:
* Baby gifts, such as sterling silver cups.
* Sterling silver jewelry of all types.
* Sterling silver "Return to Tiffany" charm tags.
* Tabletop gifts, such as leaded crystal.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
The Tiffany brand is "irreplaceable," said a New Jersey jeweler to Bart Schick, president of Dobbs Boston in Gloucester, Mass., while placing an order for sterling silver jewelry in January. Schick understands why retailers are sad to see the Tiffany's relationship end. "Their merchandise is excellent," he acknowledges.
Most of the companies mentioned as alternatives to Tiffany don't fully measure up in every product area. The downsides:
Dobbs Boston. Doesn't offer baby items, such as sterling silver cups, rattles, and frames or giftware, including crystal, porcelain, and flatware.
Link of London. Has a limited selection of crystal barware and porcelain.
Mikimoto. Its line of sterling silver jewelry is sold only in department stores.
Pianegonda. Doesn't offer baby items or giftware, including crystal, porcelain, and flatware.
Robert Lee Morris. Doesn't offer giftware (including crystal, procelain, pens, flatware, or pocket knives) or baby goods.
Syratech. Doesn't make sterling silver rings, necklaces, pendants, key rings, cufflinks, or porcelain giftware.
Tous. Doesn't offer baby cups, crystal, or glassware.
The John Hardy Collection. Has a limited selection of crystal and does not make porcelain giftware, though select items do feature exotic wood accents.
All companies. Not one secures treasures in the sine qua non of the Tiffany's shopping experience--the pale blue
Putting the boot in
With the 'umble ugg now fashion footwear, there are new moves to get the name back from the Americans who hijacked it. Kirsty Needham reports.
It's the stretch that makes sheepskin so hard to work with, reflects Bronwyn McDougall, who sits with her daughter stitching thousands of pairs of "genuine Australian" ugg boots each year. "Ugg boots are not made on fancy machines. They are virtually a cottage industry. Sheepskin is very variable and needs the human touch," says the 60-year-old. Her husband, Bruce, mans the glue pot to hand-lay soles in an old suburban house-cum-workshop in Kenwick, Western Australia.
Long relegated to somewhere under Australian beds as scruffy suburban slipper wear, the ugg boot will emerge in an entirely new light this winter. Department stores are stocking embroidered, lace-trimmed and pastel versions of the woolly stompers, which are now worn by teenage girls, knee-high. A Myer fashion buyer, Karen Brewster, says: "It will be a key look this winter, worn with mini-skirts and jeans. We have expanded our range dramatically."
The uggs new cachet is being driven by the the way the boots have been adopted as street fashion overseas. But millions of dollars in sales have brought Australia's "cottage industry" into collision with the hard-headed world of international fashion.
The McDougalls started their family business Uggs-n-Rugs 26 years ago, selling ugg boots at a farmers' market stall. In 1996 they were among the first wave of small businesses to venture online. International sales through their website were steady and mostly to men.
That suddenly changed three years ago, when the ugg began stepping out on celebrity legs. Madonna, Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey led the Hollywood charge. By the next northern winter the craze had spread, with British model Kate Moss and Sex in the City's Sarah Jessica Parker among those now sporting Ugg Australia boots made by an American footwear company, Deckers, which was trading on the legend of Australian surf culture.
All of a sudden, young American women were hitting the internet en masse in search of Australian sheepskin ugg boots, and small businesses like the McDougalls' were at the centre of an international fashion boom.
The online demand reached fever pitch three months ago when Deckers ran out. Bidding on auction websites for the then rare Ugg Australia boots (carrying the not-so-ocker titles "Fluff Momma" and "Sundance") topped $US500 (about $650).
From his Sheepskin Factory in Maitland, NSW, Tony Mortel began offering an alternative, "Australian-made ugg boots from Mortels", and sold hundreds on Ebay for up to $US250 before being suddenly kicked off. Ebay said it was barring Mortel whose father began making ugg boots in 1958 because Deckers had claimed trademark infringement.
According to the American company, there was only one "ugg boot", and it was theirs.
It was the opening salvo in a legal assault that was soon to see Deckers hire lawyers in Australia to target another 20 small businesses, firing off letters in December demanding they stop any reference to the term "ugg".
The McDougalls were told to give up their Uggs-n-Ruggs business name and trademark. In Dubbo, a charity employing 65 intellectually disabled workers that does not sell ugg boots online but has a factory shop called the "Westhaven Ugg Boot Shop", was ordered by Deckers to hand over all price lists, brochures and labels containing the words "ugg", "ug" or "ugh".
Tony Watson, a partner with Middletons, the law firm acting for Deckers, says the company acquired the Australian trademark to "ugh boot" from Australian Shane Stedman, who had registered the term in 1971. Deckers had purchased the Ugg Australia company in 1995 from another Australian, the California-based surfer Brian Smith. In 1999 it registered Ugg Australia as another Australian trademark.
Ugg mania in the US saw Deckers rake in a record $US37 million last year as sales of its boots leapt 55 per cent. Watson readily admits the Australian legal action has been spurred by Deckers' concern about lost sales.
"It is quite staggering the demand in the US and Europe, and definitely around Christmas-time Americans were having a lot of difficulty getting my client's product," he says. "Americans type `ugg' into a search engine and are getting hold of Australian retailers who have cottoned on to the idea. American consumers only know the product as my client's, and are disappointed when they don't get my client's product."
To overcome supply problems, Watson says, Deckers are now sourcing boots from China. The fact that Deckers is seeking to shut down use of the term "ugg" in Australia, when its boots are no longer even made here, has outraged the local sheepskin industry, which also points out that it is impossible to buy an Ugg Australia product in
this country.
Small ugg boot makers have rallied together, and are fighting back with plans for a class action and political agitation under the banner "Save our Aussie Icon".
Gordon Tindall, manager of the charity group Westhaven, says: "We have said `bugger this we own the name'. It is Australian."
Tindall says the term ugg boot is as generic as sausage or beer. Westhaven, which sells about 25,000 pairs each year in Australia and the US, has correspondence showing it has been using the term ugg for 30 years. "We believe the word is a variation of the word ugly," he says.
The McDougalls and Tony Mortel have separately lodged applications with the government trademark regulator, IP Australia, disputing Deckers' right to "ugh" and "ugh-boots". They argue that since Ugg Australia doesn't sell its products in Australia, and has never marketed them here, the trademark is invalid. IP Australia is obliged to consider the applications, and a court-like hearing in which both parties will be required to give evidence will take place later this year.
Tony Mortel was in the middle of moving his business this week to a bigger factory, which he says has been "built on the back of the resurgence of the ugg boot. Our sales have been increasing 10 per cent a year for the past 10 years, but we found last season that there has been huge demand for our product in Australia and overseas. But Deckers are shutting down my international operations in the US and UK.
"We have documentary evidence of the word `ugg' being used in 1918," adds Mortel. He believes the term can be found in the national archive in the description of an RAF standard uniform boot. And Mortel claims Shane Stedman, the original trademark owner of "ugh-boot", never tried to enforce it in Australia, because he was aware of this widespread use.
Bronwyn McDougall has lodged a Freedom of Information request with IP Australia in an attempt to find out how the "ugh-boot" trademark was passed in the first place. "If they had rung just a handful of people in the sheepskin industry, they would have found that everyone called them ugg, and it was generic," she says.
In recent weeks, there has been a flood of new trademark applications for terms including Hug Boots, Fug Me Boots and Snug Boots, as small traders attempt to stay in business.
Gennady Ripkin, a Sydney businessman who has been in the fashion trade for 14 years, has applied for the name "Designer Ugg". Ripkin was also recently banned from Ebay for selling boots to Americans sourced from Golden Rams on the Princes Highway, St Peters, but denies Deckers' claim that American consumers are being misled. "I stated clearly it is not related to the Ugg Australia brand."
Mortel says: "It is Deckers that have misled the US consumer to believe their brand of ugg boot is the only product ... There are hundreds of different kinds of ugg boots in Australia."
While Myer will stock one line of real sheepskin boots in Australia this winter, the bulk of its ugg boots will be synthetic and from China. "It's the look at a price-point," Brewster says.
It's the stretch that makes sheepskin so hard to work with, reflects Bronwyn McDougall, who sits with her daughter stitching thousands of pairs of "genuine Australian" ugg boots each year. "Ugg boots are not made on fancy machines. They are virtually a cottage industry. Sheepskin is very variable and needs the human touch," says the 60-year-old. Her husband, Bruce, mans the glue pot to hand-lay soles in an old suburban house-cum-workshop in Kenwick, Western Australia.
Long relegated to somewhere under Australian beds as scruffy suburban slipper wear, the ugg boot will emerge in an entirely new light this winter. Department stores are stocking embroidered, lace-trimmed and pastel versions of the woolly stompers, which are now worn by teenage girls, knee-high. A Myer fashion buyer, Karen Brewster, says: "It will be a key look this winter, worn with mini-skirts and jeans. We have expanded our range dramatically."
The uggs new cachet is being driven by the the way the boots have been adopted as street fashion overseas. But millions of dollars in sales have brought Australia's "cottage industry" into collision with the hard-headed world of international fashion.
The McDougalls started their family business Uggs-n-Rugs 26 years ago, selling ugg boots at a farmers' market stall. In 1996 they were among the first wave of small businesses to venture online. International sales through their website were steady and mostly to men.
That suddenly changed three years ago, when the ugg began stepping out on celebrity legs. Madonna, Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey led the Hollywood charge. By the next northern winter the craze had spread, with British model Kate Moss and Sex in the City's Sarah Jessica Parker among those now sporting Ugg Australia boots made by an American footwear company, Deckers, which was trading on the legend of Australian surf culture.
All of a sudden, young American women were hitting the internet en masse in search of Australian sheepskin ugg boots, and small businesses like the McDougalls' were at the centre of an international fashion boom.
The online demand reached fever pitch three months ago when Deckers ran out. Bidding on auction websites for the then rare Ugg Australia boots (carrying the not-so-ocker titles "Fluff Momma" and "Sundance") topped $US500 (about $650).
From his Sheepskin Factory in Maitland, NSW, Tony Mortel began offering an alternative, "Australian-made ugg boots from Mortels", and sold hundreds on Ebay for up to $US250 before being suddenly kicked off. Ebay said it was barring Mortel whose father began making ugg boots in 1958 because Deckers had claimed trademark infringement.
According to the American company, there was only one "ugg boot", and it was theirs.
It was the opening salvo in a legal assault that was soon to see Deckers hire lawyers in Australia to target another 20 small businesses, firing off letters in December demanding they stop any reference to the term "ugg".
The McDougalls were told to give up their Uggs-n-Ruggs business name and trademark. In Dubbo, a charity employing 65 intellectually disabled workers that does not sell ugg boots online but has a factory shop called the "Westhaven Ugg Boot Shop", was ordered by Deckers to hand over all price lists, brochures and labels containing the words "ugg", "ug" or "ugh".
Tony Watson, a partner with Middletons, the law firm acting for Deckers, says the company acquired the Australian trademark to "ugh boot" from Australian Shane Stedman, who had registered the term in 1971. Deckers had purchased the Ugg Australia company in 1995 from another Australian, the California-based surfer Brian Smith. In 1999 it registered Ugg Australia as another Australian trademark.
Ugg mania in the US saw Deckers rake in a record $US37 million last year as sales of its boots leapt 55 per cent. Watson readily admits the Australian legal action has been spurred by Deckers' concern about lost sales.
"It is quite staggering the demand in the US and Europe, and definitely around Christmas-time Americans were having a lot of difficulty getting my client's product," he says. "Americans type `ugg' into a search engine and are getting hold of Australian retailers who have cottoned on to the idea. American consumers only know the product as my client's, and are disappointed when they don't get my client's product."
To overcome supply problems, Watson says, Deckers are now sourcing boots from China. The fact that Deckers is seeking to shut down use of the term "ugg" in Australia, when its boots are no longer even made here, has outraged the local sheepskin industry, which also points out that it is impossible to buy an Ugg Australia product in
this country.
Small ugg boot makers have rallied together, and are fighting back with plans for a class action and political agitation under the banner "Save our Aussie Icon".
Gordon Tindall, manager of the charity group Westhaven, says: "We have said `bugger this we own the name'. It is Australian."
Tindall says the term ugg boot is as generic as sausage or beer. Westhaven, which sells about 25,000 pairs each year in Australia and the US, has correspondence showing it has been using the term ugg for 30 years. "We believe the word is a variation of the word ugly," he says.
The McDougalls and Tony Mortel have separately lodged applications with the government trademark regulator, IP Australia, disputing Deckers' right to "ugh" and "ugh-boots". They argue that since Ugg Australia doesn't sell its products in Australia, and has never marketed them here, the trademark is invalid. IP Australia is obliged to consider the applications, and a court-like hearing in which both parties will be required to give evidence will take place later this year.
Tony Mortel was in the middle of moving his business this week to a bigger factory, which he says has been "built on the back of the resurgence of the ugg boot. Our sales have been increasing 10 per cent a year for the past 10 years, but we found last season that there has been huge demand for our product in Australia and overseas. But Deckers are shutting down my international operations in the US and UK.
"We have documentary evidence of the word `ugg' being used in 1918," adds Mortel. He believes the term can be found in the national archive in the description of an RAF standard uniform boot. And Mortel claims Shane Stedman, the original trademark owner of "ugh-boot", never tried to enforce it in Australia, because he was aware of this widespread use.
Bronwyn McDougall has lodged a Freedom of Information request with IP Australia in an attempt to find out how the "ugh-boot" trademark was passed in the first place. "If they had rung just a handful of people in the sheepskin industry, they would have found that everyone called them ugg, and it was generic," she says.
In recent weeks, there has been a flood of new trademark applications for terms including Hug Boots, Fug Me Boots and Snug Boots, as small traders attempt to stay in business.
Gennady Ripkin, a Sydney businessman who has been in the fashion trade for 14 years, has applied for the name "Designer Ugg". Ripkin was also recently banned from Ebay for selling boots to Americans sourced from Golden Rams on the Princes Highway, St Peters, but denies Deckers' claim that American consumers are being misled. "I stated clearly it is not related to the Ugg Australia brand."
Mortel says: "It is Deckers that have misled the US consumer to believe their brand of ugg boot is the only product ... There are hundreds of different kinds of ugg boots in Australia."
While Myer will stock one line of real sheepskin boots in Australia this winter, the bulk of its ugg boots will be synthetic and from China. "It's the look at a price-point," Brewster says.
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