As dog owners flock to the Leon Boots Co. stand at Crufts, enticed by the lightest wellington boot ever, garden centre owners must be asking themselves whether they can afford to miss out on stocking this exciting new range within their own pet and gift offering
Since the opening of the show (March 10th – 13th), the Leon Boots team has been inundated with shoppers who are keen to snap up their eye-catching wellies, which are available in a variety of colours and sizes, with men’s, ladies’, unisex and children’s designs.
The appeal of Leon Boots’ designs is simple. Made from highly durable injection moulded EVA/TRC polymer, a pair of Leon Boots Co. boots can weigh as little as 219g – that’s on average 65% lighter than a traditional wellington boot. The material innovation also means each pair of Leon Boots’ wellingtons are long-lasting and durable, are resistant to cracking or splitting, 100% waterproof and insulated against temperatures as low as minus 30°C. With so much on offer, it’s no surprise that dog walkers, gardeners and winter wanderers are fast becoming loyal Leon Boots fans.
Since launching, the Leon Boots Co., has been shaking up the wellington boot category, bringing new colours, designs and unique characteristics to help drive year-round sales and maximising vital gifting potential. To date, the Leon Boots Co. offering has found its home within 73 UK garden centres across 160+ locations, with further expansion expected as consumer demand continues to filter into retailers.
Leon Boots’ Kevin Burgess said: “We’re investing heavily in getting our brand in front of consumers, with shows such as Crufts an integral part of our calendar of events for 2022. We’ve undertaken a lot of research to identify key consumer groups that we believe are likely to engage with our brand and to appreciate the unique benefits and characteristics of our boots. Our attendance at events is the perfect way to get directly in front of these shoppers to build brand awareness; brand awareness that we believe will trickle into garden centres – either within the gift and outdoor clothing sections, or even pet store areas – as these shoppers look to build their Leon Boots collection or look to gift a pair to friends and family, as once you’ve fallen in love with a pair of our boots you tend to want to tell the world!”
Merchandising support from Leon Boots Co.
Recognising that footwear can often be a space hungry product range, not to mention the fact that displays can quickly become unruly thanks to customers keen to find their right fit, the team at Leon Boot Co. has launched its products boxed, supported with dedicated displays stands to minimise shelf space required. The display units also enable the stock to be flexibly located around the store, helping to improve cross merchandising potential and ultimately driving up the average basket spend.
Each of the three displays available take up just 0.25m2, and can include 10 pair of kid’s Froggy boots, or six to eight pairs of the new garden ankle boots or unisex styles. These display units can be ordered directly with carriage paid (for 15 mixed styles), making them a quick and easy solution for retailers wanting to increase their footwear offering.
The Leon Boots offering
The bestselling Garden Ankle Boot – exclusively launched to the garden centre market in 2021 – is priced at just £34.99 making it both a great impulse buy as well as increasing the product’s gifting potential. In addition to the Garden Ankle Boots, Leon Boots Co. also offers a longer length Explorer (unisex style available in black and green – RRP £49.95), Montana (ladies’ style available in navy and green – RRP £39.95) and a Children’s range (available in Navy, Yellow or Pink) – RRP £19.95).
Find out more
To find out more about the Leon Boot Co. please visit www.lbcboots.com. Retailers interested in stocking the product offering are invited to email kevin@leonbootsco.com or charlie@leonbootsco.com
ENDS
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Note to editors
About Leon Boots Co. Limited
- Leon Boots Co. is a family run company made up of UK Directors, Kevin Burgess and Charlie Burgess.
- The brand was established in 2016 just outside Dublin and was first introduced in the UK two years later by UK Director Kevin Burgess and his son, Charlie Burgess.
- The company originally discovered a gap in the market for lighter, more durable and comfortable Non-Safety & Safety Wellingtons, before moving into garden/consumer outdoor wellington boots.
- Since its launch Leon Boots Co. has won a number of industry awards including Product of the Year at Four Oaks, an Innovation Award at Dairy-Tech, and most outstanding in Construction Footwear 2020 & most recently footwear supplier of the year 2021.