MCPC-100-2007 - MIT Smart Customization Group

MCPC-100-2007
Soft customization within the shoe industry: The case of the WEXLA-SHOE
Dominik Walcher, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Salzburg-Kuchl, Austria
Udo Weixelbaumer, IQ-Shoe, Sankt Florian am Inn, Austria
Günther Grall, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Salzburg-Kuchl, Austria
Abstract:
So far nearly all mass customization offers in the shoe industry are based on hard customization. Famous online-configuration examples like NikeID and Puma’s Mongolian Shoe BBQ
as well as offline-configuration examples like miAdidas or Selve allow customers to codesign their shoes within a customer-interaction-process. The production of the shoes however is done solely by the company normally with the help of modularization systems quite
often thousands of miles away from the customer. In contrast to these hard customization examples there are only some soft customization examples within the shoe branch, where the
customers are enabled to self customize their products. In this paper the status of an ongoing
project, which is executed by Austrian shoe manufacturer IQ-Shoe and the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, is presented. Main issue of this project is the development of a marketing concept as well as the execution of customer integration activities for a new shoe system, which is based on soft customization.
Remark:
This extended abstract is sent to the track 5.2 Apparel & Footwear, because we discuss a shoe
topic. Actually the content is more practice orientated than scientific. If you think that the paper is better suited at the Practitioner Track we would kindly ask you to forward it.
So far nearly all mass customization offers in the shoe industry are based on hard customization (Piller 2004, p. 208). Famous online-configuration examples like NikeID (www.nikeid.
com) and Puma’s Mongolian Shoe BBQ (mongolianshoebbq.puma.com) as well as offlineconfiguration examples like miAdidas (www.adidas.com/miadidas) or Selve (www.selve.net)
or already vanished companies like The Custom Foot, Customatix and Creo allow (respectively allowed) customers to co-design their shoes within a customer-interaction-process
(Berger & Piller 2003). The production of the shoes however is done solely by the company
normally with the help of modularization systems quite often thousands of miles away from
the customer (Berger 2005). In contrast to these hard customization examples there are only
some soft customization examples within the shoe branch, where the customers are enabled to
self customize their products. The adicolor concept (www.adidas.com/adicolor) for instance
allows customers to color the shoes with special pens. Another possibility to put the customer
in charge of the customization process is selling module kits. Thus the customers can decide
day-to-day what combination they would prefer. The Adidas +F50 Tunit is a good example of
a module based soccer shoe. Customers can choose between different uppers, chassis and
studs. In other branches there are also examples of module kits. Charlotte (www.charlotte.de)
and Gardena (www.gardena.com) for instance offer modular systems to self individualize
jewelry respectively gardening tools. Swatch (www.swatch.ch) still allows customers to
change different parts of the watch, such as the wristband. In this paper the status of an ongoing project, which is executed by Austrian shoe manufacturer IQ-Shoe and the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, is presented. Main issue of this project is the development of a
marketing concept as well as the execution of customer integration activities for a new modular shoe system – the WEXLA-Shoe.
Modular shoe system
The WEXLA-Shoe basically consists of three different parts. The (1) sole can be seen as the
base of the whole shoe. On top of the sole there is a special guidance structure. The (2) upper
consists of the cover, which is responsible for the aesthetical impression of the shoe, and a
fastening plate. The structure of the fastening plate is shaped negatively to the sole-structure.
Thus the upper perfectly fits into the guidance structure of the sole, where it can be fixed with
a patented locking system. Finally the (3) insole is added with the help hook-and-loop fasteners to comfortably accommodate the foot. Figure 1 shows the structure of the WEXLA-Shoe
(model “Pantolette” with an open upper). So far the system is designed for women aged
50plus. It is planned to sell a starter-kit consisting of one sole, one insole and three uppers
with different colors, materials and shapes. Other uppers can be purchased additionally. The
initial idea was that you can change easily the impression of your footwear not by buying new
shoes but by changing the most effective visual part – the upper. This approach is of course
more reasonable than buying new shows. But there are not only aesthetical issues. You can
also choose different uppers for different tasks: Closed and robust uppers for outdoor activities (e.g. gardening) as well as open and comfortable uppers for indoor activities. Moreover
different types of soles and insoles are planned to be offered, which also can be purchased
separately to reasonable prices. Thus the functional demands of the users (e.g. need of orthopedic treatment) are addressed also.
Fig. 1: Structure of the WEXLA-Shoe (model “Pantolette” with an open upper).
The collaboration of the startup company IQ-Shoe and the Salzburg University of Applied
Sciences began in September 2006. At that time first mock ups of the shoe existed, but neither
any information of the intended target group nor any marketing concepts. Basically a potential
market launch of the WEXLA-Shoe is accompanied by two kinds of uncertainty. On the one
hand the technical uncertainty, if the system works, and on the other hand the question, if the
product is accepted by the target group (Lynn & Akgün 1998, p.13f.). The proper technical
functionality can be seen as core task of the IQ-Shoe-Team. To get market based feedback
customer integration activities such as concept- respectively prototype-testing are discussed in
literature as promising instruments (Piller 2004, von Hippel 2005). Therefore the project was
subdivided into two main parts. On the one hand the development of a marketing concept and
on the other hand the execution of customer integration activities.
Marketing Concept
When the project team first met in September the shoe system had no name. As surrogate the
shoe was called “IQ-Shoe” - analogous to the company’s name. The decided request of the
team was to develop an own brand following a twofold strategy: On the one hand ready made
shoes should be sold as manufacturer’s brand. On the other hand the modular system should
be licensed to other (major) brands. In this case it is intended to position the modular system
as ingredient brand like Intel (inside) or Gore-Tex. The more popular the ingredient brand is
the more interested major brands are and the higher royalties can be claimed. To find an appealing name several workshops were executed at which different creativity techniques were
used. The results were tested with students at the Salzburg University o. A. S. After several iterations the team agreed on the name “WEXLA”. The German “wechseln” means “to
change” which precisely hits the core of the system. Due to the substitution of “ch” by “x”
and the ending “a” the name sounds more concisely and also adds an Austrian local color.
So far the WEXLA was – as mentioned above – designed for women aged 50plus. Discussions and a survey with students showed that also the target group “fashionable girlies between 12 and 18” could be a promising market too. Due to this target group extension it was
decided that the name “WEXLA” should be conceptualized as family brand. Thus “WEXLAgold” represents the 50plus line and “WEXLA-pink” the “girlie-line”. Figure 2 shows the developed logos and key visuals of the WEXLA brand family.
Fig. 2: Logos and key visuals (the eyes of the women are pink respectively gold).
Customer Integration Activities
Looking at literature of innovation management the innovation process can be divided into
early and late phases. Idea and concept phase are early phases prototyping and market launch
are late phases (Verworn & Herstatt 2003). Due to the target group extension it was decided
to have two customer integration events: a (1) design contest for the “girlie” target group,
which refers to the early idea phase, and a (2) prototype testing with women aged 50plus,
which refers to the late innovation phases.
Design Contest:
Students from high schools (focused on art or fashion) in Austria and South-Germany were
invited to send in designs and mock ups for the “girlie” target group. Figure 3 shows some selected mock ups as well as the three winner models.
Fig. 3: Selected mock ups of the design contest as well as the three winner models.
Altogether more than 200 concepts were sent in. A jury consisting of the IQ-Shoe founder,
two designers and two marketing experts assessed the designs with regard to the dimensions
(1) originality, (2) appropriateness for target group, (3) elaboration and (4) ease of realization.
The evaluation procedure was based on the consensual assessment technique (Amabile 1996,
p. 33ff.; Piller / Walcher 2006, p 312ff.). Accidentally the three winner models were sent in
by students of the Munich based fashion school ESMOD (www.esmod.com). The winning
students were awarded with an Ipod-Nano, a digital camera and an Ipod-Shuffle.
Prototype Testing:
In order to do the prototype testing the first small-series production of the 50plus shoes was
started (parallel to the design contest) in Portugal. The produced shoes were shipped to Austria. At five different places in Austria so called “prototype parties” took place, where altogether 37 elder ladies were equipped with a WEXLA-gold kit consisting of one sole, one insole and three uppers. The parties were led by marketing experts from the Salzburg University
of Applied Sciences. At the beginning the system was introduced to the ladies and first walking-tests were executed. Moreover the ladies had to change the upper several times and walk
again. Additionally they were asked to fill out a survey. Figure 4 gives an impression of these
prototype parties.
Fig. 4: Prototype party near Salzburg with members of the WEXLA-gold target group.
The youngest tester was 45 the oldest 81. The age distribution is shown in figure 5.
Age
<50
51-60
61-70
71-80
>80
n
8
20
4
4
1
Fig. 5: Age distribution (n=37, min.=45, max.=81, mean=56.97, median=54, Std. Dev. 10.5)
With the help of critical incident technique the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the
system were surveyed. Figure 6 shows a selection of the given statements.
Positive Statements
Negative Statements
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
Good Idea - not having to buy new shoes
Uppers easy to change
Choice of uppers which I like / I need
Extension of upper assortment
Comfortable / good fit
Old fashioned design
Need for other materials
Need for other colors
Need for other shapes
Weakness of hook-and-loop-fastener
Fig. 6: Summary of given statements concerning the (dis-)advantages of the WEXLA-shoe.
In the next assessment block the character of the WEXLA-gold-shoe was evaluated with the
help of a semantic differential reaching from -2 to 2 (=5-point-Likert-scale). Figure 7 shows
the results of this evaluation.
-2
-1
0
1
2
Mean
n
Std. Dev.
modern
o--------o--------o--------o--------o
classical
0.23
35
1.262
innovative
o--------o--------o--------o--------o
traditional
-0.48
33
1.202
known
o--------o--------o--------o--------o
unknown
1.20
35
1.279
sportive
o--------o--------o--------o--------o
unsportive
-0.03
36
1.230
comfortable
o--------o--------o--------o--------o
uncomfort.
-1.58
36
0.841
qualitative
o--------o--------o--------o--------o
cheap
-0.74
35
0.980
expensive
o--------o--------o--------o--------o
reasonable
0.16
32
0.987
special
o--------o--------o--------o--------o
ordinary
-0.36
36
1.150
Fig. 7: Semantic differential of WEXLA-gold-shoe characteristics.
The most extreme evaluations can be found at comfortable-uncomfortable and knownunknown. It’s obvious that the ladies assess the WEXLA-shoe as very comfortable (-1.58)
and rather unknown (1.20). This corresponds with the more innovative (-0.48) than traditional
character. Moreover the testers perceive the shoes rather qualitative (-0.74). The other evaluations are kind of indifferent (=near 0).
In the next assessment block the ladies were asked to evaluate the (1) meaningfulness of the
system, (2) functional handling, (3) intuitive handling, (4) aesthetical impression, (5) wearing
comfort, (6) the quality of the uppers, (7) the quality of the sole, (8) the quality of the insole,
(9) the overall grade and finally (10) the readiness for market. The evaluations were marked
on a 5-point-Likert-scale reaching from 1 to 5 (1=very good, 2=good, 3=indifferent, 4=bad,
5=very bad). Figure 8 gives an overview of the means and standard deviations.
Item
Meaningfulness of modular system
Functional handling of system
Intuitive handling of system
Aesthetic impression
Wearing comfort
Quality of upper
Quality of sole
Quality of insole
Overall grade
Readiness for market
Fig. 8: Evaluation of different items.
Mean
1,66
1,43
1,58
2,32
1,41
1,86
1,97
1,94
1,97
1,92
Std. Dev.
1,027
0,801
0,692
1,203
0,609
0,931
0,810
0,826
0,552
0,862
n
35
37
36
37
34
36
36
36
37
37
Wearing comfort, functional as well as intuitive handling got the best grades (1.41, 1.43, 1.58)
with small standard deviations (0.609, 0.801, 0.692), which shows the high congruency of the
tester. The quality assessment of upper, sole and insole ranges from 1.86 (upper) to 1.97 (sole)
- also good grades. The overall grade and the perceived readiness for market are evaluated
with good (1.97, 1.92). The aesthetic impression was evaluated with 2.32, which is not bad,
but the worst grade within this assessment block. Thus the ladies evaluate all dimensions with
very good or good, which is very enjoyable and can be seen as indicator for the future market
acceptance – only the aesthetic of the shoes can be improved. This evaluation is congruent
with the mentioned negative statements (see table 1). Asked for an appropriate price for the
WEXLA-gold kit (1 sole, 1 insole, 3 uppers) the mean of the ladies responses is € 82,90
(n=36, Std. Dev. 24,03) reaching from € 22,00 to € 120,00. The appropriate (mean) price for
one upper is € 22,80 (n=33, Std. Dev. 12,51) reaching from € 2,00 to € 60,00.
Outlook
So far the evaluations of the shoe system are very positive (except the aesthetic impression),
but the prototype testing has not finished yet (status 3rd April 2007). After the testing phase of
5 weeks there will be “end-of-test-parties” where the ladies are asked the same questions as at
the initial meeting. The differences within the answers (e.g. a lower appropriate price for one
upper) can be seen as indicators for a changing acceptance.
The WEXLA-system was presented at the German/Austrian/Swiss Mass Customization Conference on 16th February 2007 in Salzburg. The team got many good feedback and several
promising contacts to investors, configurator companies and especially to the TV-based distribution channel Home Shopping Europe (HSE). End of April the first WEXLA-broadcasts
are planned. At MCPC 2007 the complete results of the prototype testing as well as the
(maybe positive) developments of the next months will be presented.
References
Books:
Amabile, T.M. (1996): Creativity in Context, Oxford.
von Hippel, E. (2005): Democratizing Innovation, Cambridge.
Journals:
Berger, C. (2005): Bridging Mass Customization and Mass Production at Adidas. Proceedings
of MCPC 2005, HKUST, Hong Kong.
Berger, C. / Piller, F. (2003): Customers as Co-Designers. The mi adidas Mass Customization
strategy, IEE Manufacturing Engineer, Vol. 82 (4): 42-46.
Lynn, G.S. / Akgün, A.E. (1998): Innovation Strategies under Uncertainly: A Contingency
Approach for New Product Development, Engineering Mgt. Journal, Vol.10 (3):11-17.
Piller, F. (2004): Innovation and Value Co-Creation: An Evidence Based Approach to Integrate Customers in the Innovation Process, Habilitationsschrift an der Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaften der Technischen Universität München.
Piller, F / Walcher, D. (2006): Toolkits for idea competitions: A novel method to integrate
users in new product development, R&D Management, 36/3: 307-318.
Verworn, B. / Herstatt, C. (2003): A causal model of the impact of the “fuzzy front end” on
the success of new product development, in: EIASM, Proceedings of the 10th International
Product Development Management Conference, Brüssel.