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  Freewaters men's shoes for Spring '14. Photo courtesy of Freewaters.

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  Freewaters is the official footwear partner for the 50th anniversary of Endless Summer. Photo courtesy of Freewaters.

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  Freewaters women's shoes for Spring '14. Photo courtesy of Freewaters.

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  The Freewaters Therm-A-Rest product. Photo courtesy of Freewaters.

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  Freewaters ambassadors. Photo courtesy of Freewaters.

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  Freewaters men's sandals for Spring '14. Photo courtesy of Freewaters.

We recently noticed that Whole Foods is carrying industry shoe company Freewaters, and got in touch with CEO John Vance to find out more about that relationship, the company’s growth, about some new hires it has made, and about some Endless Summer news.

How are things at Freewaters? How have sales increased since the last year?

John Vance: Things at Freewaters are great!  We continue to expand our specialty network, and our new Therm-a-Rest product is selling through very well. We just got back from our first ever sales meeting in Cabo, which was both a blast and productive. The sales crew is excited at what has been created and we think the dealers will like what they see as we roll things out. 

We are still small in comparison to our major competitors so on a percentage basis, our sales are up dramatically. I think it’s notable that in the first quarter alone, we are up over 300% over all of last year. It’s been very rewarding. 

How is it going with the new hires? I know you added a new CFO and expanded your rep force recently? 

John: What can I say – Bob Kelley (CFO) and John Gothard (VP of Sales) are two of the best. They have both traveled down this road before with me and know the game inside and out. Gothard is actually on an East Coast swing right now visiting dealers and pre-viewing our new Spring ‘14 collection.

We have also expanded our sales force and have again made some amazing additions in territories like Florida, Texas, Southern California and the Mid-West.

Last month, we also brought in industry veteran Wendi Murphy to head up Customer Service and couldn’t be happier. 

Any new partnerships we should know about? 

John: Well as you know, we have a great relationship with Therm-a-Rest, which we will be expanding across the board to both sandals and now shoes. 

We can now announce that we have also signed an agreement to be the official footwear brand for the 50th anniversary of the iconic surf movie The Endless Summer.  This is such a fun project and with Wingnut and the others involved, should be something every surf shop should want to be involved with. Remember, this movie is a big reason why most of us started surfing or adopted this lifestyle. So it’s huge for us. 

What products are doing the best? Where and with what demographics and stores? 

John: Therm-a-Rest is for sure our best seller in sandals. But the leather McCoy is also doing really well after Men’s Journal featured it recently in one of their issues. The Women’s Georgia shoe is still our number one in women’s by far.

We have a well-balanced offering that seems to be resonating. One large online account recently told us that we were the only brand that is increasing.  That made us feel pretty good.

As far as where, just about everywhere in surf and expanding rapidly in outdoor as well. Specialty for sure – HSS, Jack’s, Hansen’s, Whalebone, Kona, Heritage Surf, Brave New World, WRV, Paragon Sports, 17thStreet, BC Surf and Sport, Val Surf, ZJ’s, ET, and Spyder to name just a few. 

Our demographic is hard to measure, but I would estimate that it’s an 18-to 45-year-old male and a 20-to 45-year old female. It’s any active person who likes to travel light and in comfort.

I see Freewaters in Whole Foods (at least in San Diego). Can you tell me what it has been like to work with them, and how its helping business? 

John: Whole Foods is a great partner. They only carry TOMS and us. Our Freewaters Project where we are building wells for those who have no clean source of water is huge with the corporate management and their customer. They represent the highest level of specialty within their channel and we are honored they asked us to be a part of how they are changing the face of the nutrition industry. 

Again, it all ties directly back to who our consumer is – healthy, travel-oriented and socially aware.  The Whole Foods customer is a 30-something female, which is normally hard for us to get in front of, so that has introduced our brand to an entirely new group of consumers. 

What’s coming up that we should look forward to? 

John: Anyone who sees our Spring ‘14 collection will see the evolution taking place. We are pushing the envelope in every area of our business, whether it’s great product, retail margin, our warranty or social responsibility. This is just the beginning. 

As I told a former colleague just today, Freewaters is like a chunk of clay and we have total freedom to shape it any way we want. Change is in the wind!