Cole Haan expands Selfridges presence with new contemporary shoes

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 25, 2018

Cole Haan is expanding its offer in Selfridges after three “successful” seasons at the upscale London-based department store.

The American brand has added a number of summer-focused ‘contemporary’ styles alongside its core offer, with the new additions reflecting the casualisation of footwear trends in recent years and the importance lightweight shoes with knitted uppers for urban dwellers seeking extreme comfort.

That’s a trend that sports specialists such as Nike and others have been quick to exploit in recent years but Cole Haan is one of the most prominent at the higher-end.

The new styles are inspired by the brand’s SS18 narrative, ‘Manhattan to Maine, Invention and Reinvention’, with the company saying that the offer “transforms the familiar and traditional into the surprising and extraordinary.”

New styles include the GrandMotion Woven Sneaker with the firm’s Stitchlite in black, camo and navy; GrandPro Running Sneaker, a heritage running silhouette with vintage-inspired perforated leather; and a new take on the Grandpro Tennis Sneaker with Stitchlite, featuring an allover knit sport oxford upper. They retail from £95 up to £190. The brand’s Stitchlite technology features zonally engineered knit uppers and what it says is “ridiculously comfortable underfoot cushioning.”

Cole Haan isn't the highest profile brand available in UK and that's perhaps part of its appeal to upscale department stores as it ticks all the boxes as far as style and technical performance are concerned, while also having plenty of exclusivity appeal.

The Selfridges expansion comes several months after the brand opened a footwear installation for its first appearance in Harrods. It only debuted in the UK as recently as last year through Selfridges and Liberty.

Its current UK activity is part of a cautious expansion programme undertaken since 2013 when it was acquired by Apax Partners from Nike for $570 million. The new owners wanted to move it from being a US brand to a global one and it now has around 115 stores and wholesale locations globally.