Tretorn makes a comeback

Tretorn CEO Markus Wonko

For a while there in the 1980s, when the yuppie look was the hottest thing in fashion, most teens wanted to have their own pair of Tretorn sneakers with the understated and elegant design and distinctive gull wing logo.

Tretorn, however, bowed out of the limelight following a series of changes in management direction and marketing strategies, and it saw how more aggressive global footwear brands quickly muscled their way into its former extensive territory.

But the venerable brand, which was established in 1891 in Helsingborg, Sweden, is making a strong comeback in lucrative territories around the world, including the United States, European countries outside Scandinavia, and Asia, including the Philippines.

Given the mandate to execute the grand plan is 40-year-old Markus Wonko, who told BusinessMonday during his visit to the Philippines last week that one of his goals is for Tretorn to be known again by the young generation, between 25-35 years old who live an active lifestyle.

“We are trying to be a younger brand again,” says the Swedish Wonko, who joined Tretorn as CEO on Jan. 1, 2013, after 11 years with the Adidas Group.

“We kind of lost touch with the younger consumers. We lost a generation, that is the bad news. But the good news is that the younger generation does not have too much baggage, so we can build something on that,” adds Wonko, who has a degree in International Marketing and Economics from the University of Lund in Sweden.

Wonko, whose mission is to turn Tretorn into a world-class outdoor brand, says he will focus on establishing Tretorn’s niche “in the countryside, court and street” by, among others, developing new designs that will appeal to new consumers and bring back the loyalty of those who knew Tretorn in the 1980s.

At the same time, he says, Tretorn will be true to its heritage, which revolves around its Swedish roots and its long association with tennis, one of the sports that Sweden is most known for, having given the tennis world such greats as Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander.

“Beginning in 2013, the decision was made for Tretorn to fully go back to its roots, back to Sweden,” says Wonko.

The brand suffered, he says, when US-based executives decided to pull the brand one way while the Swedish team pulled it another way.

“There was no direction for the brand, no consistency,” says Wonko.

Not anymore.

Tretorn—which means three towers in Swedish—has gone full speed ahead into product development and expansion of international sales, increasing its contribution to the Kering group, which includes such sports lifestyle brands as Puma, and luxury brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Stella McCartney and Bottega Veneta.

Tretorn today gets the bulk of its business from the Nordic countries at 60 percent, with about 18 percent coming from North America. Asia is still a small market, and it has an even smaller presence in Southeast Asia, where the Philippines is one of its biggest markets through a distribution partnership with the Primer Group.

Wonko is optimistic, however, that Tretorn will eventually gain greater traction in the Philippines which, along with Indonesia, is considered the biggest potential market in the region due to its impressive economic growth over the past three years.

“We see a lot of potential here in the region, and it will be driven by Indonesia and the Philippines. We have hardly tapped into Indonesia. We will see how we can work out here. We are trying to define primary markets here,” says Wonko.

Tretorn is aware that it is hard pressed to get a sizable share of the wallet of Filipinos who have become used to American brands.

TRETORN of Sweden is out to capture the hearts of a new generation of consumers.

But he says Tretorn offers something unique to the market, one that is closely tied to its Swedish identity.

“We have to talk about the heritage that we have. We have a very interesting story, and we need to tell it again,” says Wonko. “We are also getting back to our Scandinavian look and feel, one that is very toned down, a clean way of approaching things.”

Wonko says Tretorn aims to become the go-to brand, to complement the “inspired, active lifestyle.”

“No matter the weather, we are going to be the brand that will help you realize what you want to do,” says Wonko.