“We follow the fashion trends, but Lumberjack is leather. The focus in the collections is leather and our iconic products are made of leather”. The new country director of Lumberjack Erkan Emre, recently arrived in Treviso, in the Italian headquarters of the company controlled by the Turkish group Ziylan, has it all figured out. The brand closed 2018 with around 40 million euros in turnover (4.5 million pairs sold), in line with 2017, 80% of which pairs were made in Italy. “We could grow even more in Italy, a market where the perception of the quality of our products is definetly good, but we have a very restrictive credit policy, which we pay close attention to” says Emre, who aims to expand the export share by focusing on Eastern Europe, North Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Russia. Production is carried out all over the world starting from the only owned factory in Istanbul that produces about 6,000 pairs of “yellow boots” a day. Then Portugal, Italy (Naples), China (sneakers and more sporty models) and India (cheaper products). In recent years, the company has embraced a more casual style, without forgetting the comfort and durability of the products for which the Lumberjack brand is known. “We invest a lot in the product that is considered an important factor of competitiveness as well as its quality-price ratio. We are having a more urban approach and a larger collection with over 200 models of sneakers or sports models”, explains the manager who, in parallel with this new offer, has to review distribution. “We are adapting production to market speed. In addition to the two collections and the usual new product offerings, there are flash lines but it is never enough for a market that is always looking for something new. In addition to speed, we also want to manage less stock and have an increased production flexibility” concludes Erkan Emre.
Leather and leather again for Lumberjack: present and future of the Turkish-owned brand in our interview with Erkan Emre
