Hotter upgrades design, buying and pricing capabilities

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Dec 16, 2019

British shoe brand Hotter has reviewed the way it comes up with new designs in an effort to align itself more closely with key consumer needs and wants.

As part of this, the company is adopting new technology from First Insight, including consumer-driven predictive analytics, to make accurate design, buying and pricing decisions on the new products it offers to consumers.

The tools will provide real-time insights into customer preferences, pricing and sentiment on potential product offerings. This will be filtered through First Insight’s predictive analytic models to determine which products will perform best.

“Implementing First Insight’s digital product testing and predictive analytics will enable us to increase product sell-through and margins using direct feedback from our customers,” said Victoria Betts, chief commercial officer of Hotter Shoes. 

“Leveraging the voice of the customer to optimise our buying decisions and assortment selections will help us to offer the right products at the right price as we continue to grow our business domestically and internationally.”

Based in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, Hotter is the UK’s largest shoe manufacturer. Its state-of-the-art factory produces a pair of comfort-oriented shoes every 20 seconds. But the challenging trading conditions on the UK high street, coupled with mounting costs, have had a severe effect on its sales and profits, with operating profit down 88% in 2018.

Now led by Ian Watson as CEO, Hotter is focusing on bouncing back following a £7.5 million investment from its owner Elecra in early 2019.