RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

recently the Miss South Africa winner – who went
on to win Miss World 2015.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
CALL IT SPRING, the young, on-trend, footwear
and accessories brand, is proud to announce that
it has partnered with Brooklyn artist and designer
Mike Perry to create a unique capsule collection
that launched in March 2015. This is the first
collaboration of its kind for CALL IT SPRING and
is a perfect combination of Perry’s playful aesthetic
and the brand’s youthful design.
The CALL IT SPRING x Mike Perry collection
features an exclusive and colourful “Friends” print
on ladies and men’s sneakers, sunglasses, backpack,
five-panel cap and iPhone case.
MARKET
Forty years ago, in 1972, a young Aldo Bensadoun
– son of a shoe merchant, grandson of a cobbler –
set out to realise a dream. Armed with passion and
a deep-rooted understanding of the shoe business,
he envisioned a different kind of company, a brand
that cares.
Aldo Bensadoun pledged to build his company
on a commitment to compassion, ethics, and
understanding the customer in order to offer them
the best possible products and services. Since 1972,
this philosophy has fuelled the ALDO Group’s
constant innovation and steady striving to be the
best it can be for its customers.
Today, the ALDO Group is one of the world’s
leading fashion retailers, with more than 20,000
team members worldwide and nearly 200 million
customers visiting their stores each year. Specialising
in the design and production of quality, stylish and
accessible footwear and accessories, the ALDO
Group has an unsurpassed knowledge of the shoe
retail business. This expertise has enabled them to
cover all corners of the footwear market with four
signature brands: ALDO, CALL IT SPRING, LITTLE
BURGUNDY and GLOBO. While all distinct in
character, the ALDO Group family of brands all
beat with the same heart - an energetic core
containing the spirit and vision of one man and his
dream.
Since the very first ALDO store opened
its doors in downtown Montreal in 1972, this
pioneering company has gone from one strength to
another, consistently striving to be the best it can
be for its customers. In 1993, they sought to bring
their product and their brand beyond the Canadian
borders and they opened their first store in the
US. This was closely followed by the first franchise
store in Israel, in 1995, and they have not slowed
down since. By the end of 2014, the ALDO Group
had more than 1,900 stores around the globe,
operating on all continents, except Antarctica.
30
PROMOTION
Apparel Group, a Dubai based exclusive licensee,
represents this premier Canadian fashion shoes
and accessories brand in the UAE, Oman, Qatar,
Bahrain, Kuwait, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand
and Malaysia. Apparel Group currently operates 27
CALL IT SPRING stores across the GCC.
The CALL IT SPRING target customer is
young men and women, ages 15-25, who are selfproclaimed, optimistic, fashionable and connected,
among many other things. The CALL IT SPRING
customer is all about living life to the fullest, taking
everything in, one snapshot at a time. They are
always on trend in the closet and on budget in the
wallet. They are very present in the social media
scene and strive to share.
HISTORY
CALL IT SPRING first opened in Canada, and has
since grown to become an International player. Its
first entry into the International market was in
2004 opening stores in Israel, Saudi Arabia and
UAE.
In 2005 and 2006, Apparel Group opened stores in
Oman and Bahrain, respectively.
By 2007 it entered Egypt and by 2009 was in
Lebanon.
2011 saw more expansion with stores popping up
in Kazakhstan, Morocco, and Philippines.
By 2012 CALL IT SPRING expanded outside of
the Middle East, opening stores in South Africa,
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kuwait and Chile.
2013 was another big year for the brand with
numerous stores opening in Peru, Colombia and
another Apparel Group opening in Qatar.
By 2014 Europe saw CALL IT SPRING with
openings with Romani and Denmark.
Most recently were openings in both Mexico and
India.
CALL IT SPRING currently has a strong presence
worldwide with close to 900 locations in 25
countries across North America, the Middle East,
Latin America, Europe and Asia. The brand also
has widespread distribution as a shop-in-shop
concept in JCPenney stores in the United States,
Debenhams stores in the UK and in Falabella stores
in Latin America.
PRODUCT
The ultimate destination for shoes, handbags and
accessories, CALL IT SPRING is your go-to for
coveted trends with accessible price-tags. It’s about
discovery, freedom and making your fashion a show
and tell for who you are. Playful, unique and never
predictable, the brand is home to those who want
to stand out while still fitting in.
It’s the inspiration you feel when putting together
a new look, the creativity of flirting with fresh styles.
It’s about discovery and freedom and making your
fashion a show-and-tell for who you are. You call it
love, we CALL IT SPRING.
CALL IT SPRING is eternally youthful and
charismatic, whether it’s in the shoes or the store
design. The environments capture the essence
of campaign and engage the clientele with the
latest trends at incredibly approachable prices. The
store concept mix sleek contemporary materials,
attractive textures and eye-catching colours to
create a playful and inspiring environment for their
customers; a unique trend destination showcasing
their accessible and fashionable collection where
individuality and self-expression can bloom.
Most recently CALL IT SPRING revamped their
packaging to make it more in-line with the target
customer. The new Kraft look and feel of the
packaging (shoe box and bags) as well as the three
“brand colours” – mint green, light blue and coral
have enabled CALL IT SPRING to stand out in the
marketplace and better represent their DNA.
CALL IT SPRING products are regularly featured
in some of the world’s most influential and
widely read publications, and are often worn
and showcased by bloggers, celebrities and most
In 2014 CALL IT SPRING renovated some of
its key stores, as well as opened in some of the
main malls in UAE. Following these openings, the
brand hosted Opening Events for both media and
customers to enjoy. Along with the goodies, DJ
from hot radio stations, step-and-repeat photo
booths and awesome giveaways, CALL IT SPRING
became widely known for their “Flash Mob”
surprises at these events. These dancers, wearing
CALL IT SPRING shoes and accessories and
seasonal-branded t-shirts have become a staple at
opening events.
In terms of the digital world, the brand has
started a digital marketing campaign this season,
which will focus on their playful and youthful
campaign videos being played before video content
on channels like YouTube.
BRAND VALUES
ALDO Group brands are always at the forefront of
their market segment. Exclusivity is key: styles are
designed and developed by each division with the
ALDO Group’s manufacturers and are customised
with great precision to suit the company’s various
brands.
The CALL IT SPRING vision is to make people
feel good through the products and services they
provide every day. This vision is driven by three
core values, which lie at the heart of everything the
company does and strives towards:
Each brand carries its message through store
design, merchandising and style of interaction with
customers.
The core values:
The ALDO Group environment is defined by a set
of values which guide the campaign at every level:
Respect: An open-hearted attitude embracing
diversity, encouraging equality.
Integrity: The commitment to excellence principled
follow-through on every task undertaken.
Love: Caring passionate enthusiasm, from the inside
out social awareness in action.
The ALDO Group is a company internationally
known for its social conscience in action. As the
company grows, so does its sense of duty to
humanity. The ALDO Group gives back to its
global communities through fundraising and social
awareness campaigns for charities. The company’s
practice of giving back doesn’t end at the
corporate level: ALDO Group team members also
regularly roll up their sleeves to engage in good
works.
ALDO’s commitment extends beyond fashion;
the brand places a premium on being a good
corporate citizen by working to enrich the
communities in which the brand’s employees live
and work. CALL IT SPRING is a brand with a
conscience, a brand that cares. It actively supports
the organisation War Child and since the beginning
of its partnership it has raised upwards of $500,000
USD. The ALDO Group employees work yearround to help sick and underprivileged children.
Things you didn’t know about
CALL IT SPRING
CALL IT SPRING used the same models in their
campaign for six consecutive seasons.
l Their SS15 campaign was shot on Lenny Kravitz’s
boat!
l Their SS14 magazine Citizen Cool was a finalist
for the 2014 CLIO Image Awards.
l SS15 marks the release of their first-ever global
collaboration with Brooklyn artist Mike Perry.
l