Deckers strengthens brand portfolio with Koolaburra

By

Sarah Ahssen

Published
Jun 1, 2015

Deckers president Dave Powers has announced the acquisition of the women’s footwear brand Koolaburra. Based in Santa Barbara, not far from Deckers’ offices, which are near to the town of Goleta, California, Koolaburra offers sheep wool- lined boots similar to those offered by Ugg (owned by Deckers). The brand’s range also includes sandals and leather goods.

"We plan to quickly reposition Koolaburra over the next 12 months to enter the mid-tier market. This is a highly strategic acquisition for us that will allow us to compete in this market while maintaining the premium positioning of our UGG bran," said Dave Powers in a conference calling discussing Decker’s 2014/2015 fiscal results.

Koolaburra, whose sheep-lined boots are slightly cheaper than Uggs (about 140 euros, as compared to 160 euros for a lower stems Ugg model), could therefore see its prices fall and its range altered. 

For its 2014/2015 fiscal year, Ugg sales reached 1.35 billion euros, representing more than three quarters of the US footwear specialist’s total sales.

€1 = $1.10/£0.72