Hickies (shoes)

HICKIES
Company typePrivate held company
Founded2011
FounderGaston Frydlewski and Mariquel Waingarten
HeadquartersNew York, New York, United States
Area served
North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Australia
ProductsHickies Lacing System
BrandsHickies
OwnerGaston Frydlewski and Mariquel Waingarten
Websitehttps://www.hickies.com

HICKIES, Inc is a footwear accessories company headquartered in Brooklyn, New York,[1] producing a no-tie shoelace alternative which is currently sold in over 40 countries.[2] The company was founded in 2011[3] by Gaston Frydlweski[4] and Mariquel Waingarten.[5] Frydlewski is CEO and Waingarten as chief marketing officer.[1] The name HICKIES is from the cheeky term for a mark of affection. The founders believe the world needs more “marks of affection”, and they wanted to leave a mark of affection on everyone's footwear.[6]

History

Hickies launched its first product with a Kick starter campaign in 2012 that raised US$159,167,[6] six times more than the $25,000 goal. Following the Kick starter campaign, the company opened office in Brooklyn, New York and began production in Taiwan. After initial funding, Hydra Ventures, along with other investment funds, then invested US$6.2 million in the company.[1]

In October 2012, Brookstone introduced the product to the footwear market.[7]

In 2015, Argentine apparel manufacturer and distributor Topper (sports) signed an agreement with Hickies. In Argentina and other South American countries, Topper (sports) handles the distribution and sales of Hickies Lacing System.[8]

Products

HICKIES designs, produces and markets a product called the Hickies Lacing System. The lacing system replaces traditional shoelaces in footwear. The lacing system also helps people with impaired fine motor skills, such as cerebral palsy and autism wear shoes that require lacing.[9]

Hickies laces are made from a plastic Elastomer and the head is fashioned from a Polycarbonate.[10] Individual strap and head combinations are inserted into the shoe's eyelets in a number of pre-established lacing patterns in order to adjust the fit to the user.[11]

Endorsements

Hickies products have been featured or worn by pro-golfer Danny Willett,[12] Whoopi Goldberg,[13] Chloë Grace Moretz,[1][14] designer Diane von Fürstenberg.[1] In May 2016, HICKIES signed golfer Danny Willett on a two-year endorsement deal that will include creation of a Danny Willett signature golf HICKIES Lacing System.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Feldman, Amy(2016-04-08) "Hate Shoelaces? Hickies Founder Does Too And Is Building A $10 Million Business Replacing Them" Forbes. Retrieved on 5 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Hickies Releases New Era Of Shoelaces And Continues To Lead The Active Movement Through Design And Innovation". Press Release Rocket. June 1, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  3. ^ "Company Overview of Hickies Inc". Bloomberg. Bloomberg. 2016. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  4. ^ Bell, Jennie (November 10, 2014). "Hickies Says Tie No More". Footwear News. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  5. ^ Kang, Crystal (2016-06-07). "At Hickies, A 'Life Without Laces' Ties a Couple Together". Creator. WeWork. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  6. ^ a b "Hickies - turn your kicks into slip-ons". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  7. ^ "Brook stone Introduces HICKIES® to Kick Shoes Up a Notch" (Press release). Brook stone. PR News wire. 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  8. ^ "Topper lanza en Argentina su nueva tecnología: Hickies". Fashion Mag. March 21, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  9. ^ "Boy's shoelace trouble turns into act of kindness". USA Today. 2015-12-07. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  10. ^ Pereyra, Celeste (2016-04-25). "Hickies: cordones modernos con un fin social". MUSA Argentina. MUSA. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
  11. ^ Brunning, Karla (2013-08-10). "Review: Hickies Elastic Lacing System For Shoes". Notes From a Running Nerd. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  12. ^ Carballo, Charlie (2016-04-11). "Danny Willett Wins 2016 Masters Tournament In FootJoy Golf Shoes". Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  13. ^ Feitelberg, Rosemary (2014-10-14). "Whoopi Goldberg Lends a Hand to Story NYC's Pitch Night". Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  14. ^ @ChloeGMoretz (2014-11-18). "Wearing @hickies on set makes my days..." (Tweet). Retrieved 2016-08-12 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Pady, Dan (May 12, 2016). "Hickies Lacing System Signs Endorsement Deal With Masters Champion Danny Willett, Adds The Duran Group To Manage U.S. Golf Market Sales Expansion". Golf Wire. Golf Week. Retrieved 2016-07-10.