FOCUSED ON THE ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT; SPORTS AND FITNESS BRANDS LAUNCH WAVE OF NEW PRODUCTS FOR HOLIDAY/WINTER 2008

TrendCast 2008 highlights innovations in sports, fitness and lifestyle products

NEW YORK, NY. (May 22, 2008) Fifty select members of the media were treated to a first look at new sports, fitness and lifestyle products for the Holiday/Winter 2008 season where the economy and the environment took center stage at an invitation only event held at SportsClub LA in New York.

TrendCast 2008, held last week, featured 15 leading brands that offer products made for those who live a healthy and active lifestyle. Taking a look at next winter’s products and style direction were a wide range of media from Men’s Journal and Oprah Magazine to MTV and CBS News.
Some of the emerging trends included products that help you travel more efficiently with your gear to clothes made with natural fibers to fitness machines that require little or no power.
“As more and more people are downsizing their vehicles due to gas prices, they are looking for safe and convenient ways to carry their gear. TrendCast was a great way for us to get one-on-one time with the national media regarding our complete line of vehicle racks, boxes and accessories,” said Karl Wiederman of Thule Rack Systems. Others introduced home work-out equipment that is self-generating requiring no power to use such as the Green Elliptical from NordicTrack which has a console featuring an onboard battery grid to capture the “power” generated when the user uses the elliptical product during exercise. The console display lights up with user generated power.

In addition to products that do not require power, brands also showcased products that can be recycled. SIGG, maker of reusable aluminum bottles spoke about the waste associated with single use plastic water bottles and showed a collection of aluminum bottles that can be recycled after their long use.

The use of regenerating resources was also a prevalent trend. Nordic Track launched a new line of bamboo fabric fitness apparel combing the best in comfort and durability. The new collection offers relaxed fit styles for both men and women in natural fabric and fashionable colors which not only look good but feel great. The bamboo fiber is breathable, comfortable and antimicrobial.

Gordini expanded the story to the winter season. Using advanced materials to make some of the highest performance gloves available, Gordini’s designers have produced a new line made from recycled materials and then combined them with natural materials such as goose down, silk, pure wool, natural leathers, charcoal and bamboo. The new line is not only warm, dry and eco-friendly, but stylish too. Kombi, makers of quality, high performance gloves and base layers, is also moving towards using more sustainable fabrics such as merino wool, charcoal and bamboo in a selection of product ideal for on and off the slope comfort for men, women and kids.

Other prevalent trends seen at TrendCast that consumers will see in stores this fall include:

THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN APPAREL – Aside from the economy and the environment the next most prevalent trend consumers will see at retail next fall and winter is the convergence of fitness and technology. “We are certainly witnessing a trend towards personal monitoring,” said Meg Burich, director of marketing at Numetrex, maker of sports bras and tank tops that include built in heart rate monitors. “Web communities and technology that support data collection including calorie burn, activity monitoring and heart rate are great motivators for people who are looking to achieve health and wellness goals.” illumiNITE, a leading maker of reflective apparel also showed an expanded collection of apparel and accessories. illumiNITE uses a patented technology to make apparel that reflects – not just piping on the sleeve but the entire garment gives a reflective glow making it possible to stay safe while you work-out even if you’re workout expands beyond daylight hours.

YOUNG AND OLD - Many of the brands that showed at TrendCast highlighted more products made for younger athletes as well as older consumers. Spalding Sports, for example, introduced a new line of Rookie Gear – a collection of balls for soccer, football and basketballs that are 25 percent lighter that help children build more confidence, Seeworthy, a leading maker of performance swim goggles made for competitive swimmers and triathletes that can be easily customized for prescription lenses introduced a collection of goggles for younger swimmers in the 4-8 age range. On the other end of the spectrum, many were looking at older, affluent consumers and introducing products that help reduce wear and tear on the joints. One example is the new Octane xRide, a new exercise modality, a seated elliptical trainer, which is hitting specialty fitness retailers later this month. It delivers all the cardiovascular, total-body, low impact benefits of a traditional standing elliptical, but with the comfort and support of a seat. Plus, unique to the xRide, exercisers can engage in upper and lower body strength training while using the leverage from the seat.

FASHION FORECAST - TrendCast also gave some fashion editors and stylists a sense of what to expect in the lifestyle market. Eyewear took a giant step forward with bigger bolder frames. Native Eyewear was on-hand to show an expanded collection - all made with athletes in mind – but showed new polarized styles with bolder looking frames that perform just as strongly whether you’re entering a triathalon or heading to the beach. KangaROOS, a major player in the footwear market during the late 70s and 80s re-emerged at TrendCast and gave editors a sneak peek into the Holiday 2008 season. The Classic KangaROOS Lotus is updated with 70's inspiration by offering the original retro jogger in a slip on silhouette; bringing a 'tailored, tomboy' look to an original KangaROOS style. Look for a trend for shine, satin and translucent to continue into Holiday 08 season. Italian designed, Tecnica, maker of the fun-loving Moon Boot™, unveiled a women’s ‘country’ collection of shoes and boots in a variety of styles using vintage suedes and subtle accents.

WINTER WONDERLAND - As TrendCast was focused on the holiday season, winter / snow products were a dominant theme. Simplistic performance is the premise of Tecnica’s newest ski boot collection – Dragon, available in five new models, including a freestyle boot and a women’s specific model. Engineered and designed for comfort and performance, the Dragon series is ideal for the expert, all condition skier. For the skier who wants a personalized, custom ride, the ‘power’ of the Volkl Grizzly can be altered by a switch of a dial. Add Marker’s new Wide Ride iPT binding system to accommodate fat skis and you have a ski that will out perform the best on the groomed trails to powder. Marker continues to address the freestyle market with the Baron and Griffon bindings that offer maximum in safety, performance and power to backcountry enthusiast to park and pipe riders. With changing snow conditions and light, the Marker Kamaleon goggle addresses this issue with three interchangeable lenses. Skincare during the harsh winter months was also discussed. Dermatone is the only sunscreen manufacturer to offer a line of water free sunscreens for cold weather sports. Using 100% all natural ingredients to provide lip and skin protection, Dermatone sunscreens are perfect for year-round activities offering minimum and maximum SPF sunscreens for all climates. At TrendCast, Dermatone introduced a new Green Tea Flavored lip balm with real green tea.

True North has been a part of the SIGG story since its current regime took office and it's been an exhilerating ride as we've helped SIGG grow from an item into a full-fledged brand over the pat few years. We recently put CEO Steve Wasik in touch with a reporter from Reuters - We'll let this story explain what the power of PR can mean for a company.


Sigg, the little company with the big brand
Deborah L. Cohen
20 May 2008

How a Swiss aluminum water bottle became a stylish fashion accessory.
CHICAGO (Reuters) -- A company doesn't have to be big to go global, but it helps to catch the right wave.
Up until a few years ago, Sigg, a Swiss aluminum water bottle maker, was just a fledgling manufacturer with roughly US$1-million in sales and limited distribution in European markets. It's still a small company with only about 100 full-time employees and a single production plant at its headquarters in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, a town some 30 miles north of Zurich.
Yet today Sigg bottles are cropping up in some 40 countries. In the US, they can be found everywhere from major retailers like Whole Foods to local yoga studios. Fashion designers Donna Karan and Michael Kors have created one-of-a-kind designs and the Sigg bottle has a place of honor in New York's Museum of Modern Art.
With apologies to Malcolm Gladwell, Sigg appears to have reached a tipping point in recent months. The bottles are positioned as environmentally-friendly products over single-serve, throw-away plastics. A recent focus on chemicals leached by some of the plastics used in some competing products may also bolster Sigg's place in the eco spectrum.
These are the market conditions most small companies would kill for."It's really a perfect storm," says Steve Wasik, the branding expert installed as Sigg's US president in September of 2005. Wasik, an American whose background includes stints for Naya water, Chanel and Cadbury-Schweppes, became Sigg's global CEO in January.
Fashion accessory
The company's momentum has been driven in part by behind-the-scenes muscle. In December 2003, Riverside Co., a US private equity firm purchased Sigg from Afinum, a German fund manager. The price wasn't disclosed. With about US$2-billion under management in industries from recreational boating to hospice care, Riverside bills itself as "the largest private equity firm investing in premier companies at the smaller end of the middle market."
Wasik and his backers knew that Sigg had the potential for growth. But they needed to create broader brand recognition for the product, which had little cache beyond hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts. "We saw that it could be more than a functional product," Wasik says. "We saw that it could be a fashion accessory."
He began with market research, sending Sigg bottles to a host of test users and asking them to record their experiences in personal logs. Before long, the company was evolving beyond its narrow role of manufacturer and knocking on the doors of specialty retailers, hosting design contests and developing new channels of distribution.
In many ways, Sigg still operates like a small company. Wasik, who won't discuss financial details, says he has not pumped a lot of money into traditional marketing. Outside of limited print advertising, the company relies primarily on public relations campaigns for product placement and alliances with environmental groups to build consumer awareness.
Production remains under tight control; the single Swiss factory churns out some 100,000 bottles a week. Sigg's pricing is tailored to an upscale image at about US$20 for the popular 20-ounce size. Reusable plastic bottles can cost half as much. Of late, the company has had to turn down calls for new business, Wasik says. Meanwhile, customers like Whole Foods have had to contend with sporadic deliveries, due to tightening supplies of product.
"There have been some instances we have heard of lately where demand has exceeded supply," confirms Ashley Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the Austin, Texas-based organic foods grocer, via email. On May 1, Wasik made a public appeal to customers, asking them to remain patient, saying "I am sure most of you are aware of the current challenge we face."
Riverside is not complaining. It won't disclose specifics on Sigg's sales but says they are somewhere between US$30-million to US$100-million and growing at more than a double-digit pace.
"We're not in a hurry to make decisions," says Tony Cabral, managing partner for Riverside Europe, when asked about the firm's exit strategy. "We have absolutely no pressure to sell this."

THE VALUE OF PR
When we start talking with a new company there are a host of questions that we're always asked...in fact, if we're not asked we're almost skeptical because they are great questions for a brand to ask if they have not worked with a PR firm before. The questions include topics such as, what will ou ROI be? How long does it take to see the effects from a good PR campaign? What kind of effect will it have on our sales?

Again, these are all great questions - but rather than listen to us answer these questions - we're going to let one of our clients answer this question. Check out the link below to see how one of our PR campaigns changed a company almost overnight!

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/canada-am/consumer-alert/#clip54390