Pump Up Your Business With Reebok Founder Joe Foster

In this episode, we're honored to be joined by Reebok Founder Joe Foster to discuss his journey building one of the most iconic athletic brands in the world. Hear the tale of his inspiring journey to success, from his greatest life lesson - always having fun, to his unexpected rise to the top of the global sports shoe market. Listen as Joe shares insights on building a strong team, the value of giving designers creative control, and staying grounded amid all the success. Also, don't miss out on his perspective on the balance between personal attachment and market viability as Reebok transitions from a performance brand to a fashion powerhouse.
During this fascinating conversation, we continue exploring the world of Reebok with Joe Foster. Get insider information about memorable campaigns and product launches, the struggle between localization and standardization in global markets, and the future of fashion. Tune in to understand the distinct markets and the increasing demand for comfortable and functional apparel. Don't miss out on this valuable opportunity to learn from one of the pioneers of the fashion world about the evolution of Reebok and its significant influence on global fashion trends.

Watch the Interview Here:

Show Transcript

01:14 - Joe Foster (Guest)

There we are, Ashley Hello.

01:16 - Ashley McPherson (Host)

Hi Joe, how are you?

01:18 - Joe Foster (Guest)

I'm fine. How are you?

01:19 - Ashley McPherson (Host)

I'm doing well. Thank you so much for being here, so I want to start out. Your story has touched and inspired so many. What's the greatest business or life lesson you've learned that you want to pass on to all of us?

01:32 - Joe Foster (Guest)

Business and life lesson. I think the most important thing and it applies to business and life and that is you must have fun. Whatever you're doing, you must enjoy it and have a lot of fun. I think that, for me, is the most important lesson. Not every day is going to be fun, but you get up in the morning and you think this is going to be fun. So have fun. That's the best I can say.

01:51 - Ashley McPherson (Host)

I love that. Did you ever imagine Reebok would grow so iconic when you were starting out and through it all? How have you been able to stay so grounded?

02:00 - Joe Foster (Guest)

Well nearly Jeff know myself. We may have had the dream now and then that we would be really successful, we would become the number one global sports shoe brand in the late 80s. No, we didn't expect that at all, and that was not just a bonus. It was a fantastic pleasure to get the fantastic achievement. For us and although my brother didn't see it, unfortunately my brother died just as we got to America and well before we became a brand so well known, which was that was a shame.

02:32 - Ashley McPherson (Host)

How have you been able to stay so grounded through all of this success?

02:36 - Joe Foster (Guest)

Right. I think the reason is that, first of all, we're a bit in awe ourselves. Certainly, I'm a bit in awe of what we achieved and it needs a team, and with that team you build a culture, you build a community, and I think when you do that, it's not just being the boss, because you have so many people there and that team works. They bring so much to your efforts and you give them some ownership, and I think that is important to make sure that they feel that they don't work for Reebok, that they are part of the company, and that helps bring so many strengths and so many different benefits to your company.

03:15 - Ashley McPherson (Host)

It actually brings me exactly to my next question. You gave designers a lot of creative control, and what practices do you think empowered teams to take smart risks?

03:25 - Joe Foster (Guest)

I think you have to do that. I probably designed the first batch of product that we produced at Reebok and it was not too long before designers. We had to bring designers in and I brought that our first designer in, I think actually when Jeff died. I had to replace Jeff because it was a sad loss for the company, but I did bring a designer in from another company and from then on we just built designers, lots of designers and yes, however your company is viewed really comes from your designers.

04:00

You have to have a designer who will push the envelope a little, make some changes and also make improvements, because we were a performers. We are, in many ways, still a performance company, so you have to have products that perform. When a designer, when someone's designing, they have to keep that in mind. And also we managed to bring in different materials. When you look at the pump, that is something. It's almost a marketing achievement that because the pump really did whether it was a success in terms of what it did. It was supposed to give you a more comfortable fit, because you can lace up a shoe and then, if you blow it up, the ladi you blow that up and that gives you a better fit and of course. But it was such a marvelous marketing tool because we had D Brown who won the I think it was the dunking contest for basketball and he actually turned his back on the basket and threw it over his head and hit the basket spot on. But before he did that, he bent down and pumped his shoes up and then, when he succeeded, he just released the herb and released the herb from it. And everybody seems to remember that. And it's those sorts of things. It's the opportunities to change people's view of your company and if they can view it, they remember that and they remember your company, they remember the name.

05:19

And so many people wanted to buy the pump. It was very expensive. And I meet a lot of people now, people who are in the 50s, who were saying when I was a kid, when I was a kid, I wanted a pump, but it was too expensive, my parents wouldn't buy me, the shoes were just too expensive. But eventually, of course, they did get the shoes. So that's what makes you, your brand, so different Become fortunate, because you are fortunate to find something like that. And I do know it was a nightmare as far as production. Production was very difficult because a shoe is a shoe flexes and so it has to be able to bend and twist and change and also stand the pressure of. You can imagine some of these basketball players. They only 15 to 18 storms and they jump and they land on that shoe. So it's got to stand that sort of attack. But designers make a big difference to your company.

06:09 - Ashley McPherson (Host)

A lot of times. Fashion designers often personally attach their ideas and collections. How vital is it to separate personal attachment from objectively assessing market viability, and what guidance about that tension do you have for fashion entrepreneurs?

06:26 - Joe Foster (Guest)

I think that I mean right now. As you know, Reebok added us, Nike and most of the sports footwear companies are now fashion companies. So we've gone from just designing performance footwear to street, and street is so much different. When you talk about team, it is team. So we don't like ego, but we don't mind.

06:46

A designer has to look after his own skill and has to be known for his own skills, so we didn't mind designers being able to be attached to a certain design that they brought out. We even see them today. They go on the computer and they will advertise this is my design. I designed this 10 years ago, 20 years ago. We think that's good because there is so many brilliant designs. You need to know I think it was Pump Fury, that's when the bladder was then put on the outside of the shoe and that guy I think it's called Steve Smith he had that idea, so it's linked with him as well as Reebok, and that's good. We don't want to say no, you can't advertise anything. So that's good, and it's good for them as well, because they feel as though they belong and they feel that whatever their idea was, people can share that.

07:37 - Ashley McPherson (Host)

My next question is if you could live through one Reebok campaign or product launch again, which would you choose and why?

07:46 - Joe Foster (Guest)

Which would you choose? Goodness me, I mean product launches. Have we done?

07:48 - Ashley McPherson (Host)

we've done so many, I know right A lot, but are there any moments that really stick out in your mind that you really, really enjoyed working on. That was memorable for you.

07:57 - Joe Foster (Guest)

Well, first of all, the influence that we got to get into America was the Aztec and the Aztec shoe. That was a five star training shoe, Five star given by everyone in this world. And working on that and bringing that out and actually achieving the five star rating, that was a fabulous thing for us. We talk about the pump. Launching the pump obviously is a big part of Reebok. We have many, but I think the Aztec was probably the best for me when we got the five star.

08:24 - Ashley McPherson (Host)

Awesome. I picked up a copy of your book ShootMaker, so I hope everybody is going to get this as well. And in chapter 33 of your book you shared insights around the importance of understanding distinct global markets when expanding your apparel division internationally. Yes, you noted, pursuing global uniformity and designing the apparel range early on proved counterproductive, so could you speak more about what guidance you have for fashion brands today on the tensions between localization versus standardization across company?

08:58 - Joe Foster (Guest)

I suppose the statement think globally, act locally. Because what we did find, particularly in Europe, is that there's so many different markets, the different cultures and making something that you would sell in Scandinavia as against what you would sell in Italy In Italy they do like cotton, in Scandinavia they like something more warm. So we have these different markets and I think that the way that ABG are working now an authentic brand group on the Reebok brand is that they're licensing the brand to the different regions and so the different regions now can actually design their own and it's rather fashion these days but they can design their own apparel and they can, to an extent, design their own footwear. But of course, what happens is that you have to police that. So the Reebok brand do police what goes on, but they do work with the licensee and if the licensee wants something, they will allow them to have it.

09:56

Very much in the early days we had licensed the brand in Spain and we go back a long time because their market was very much a beach market. It was all around the coast. There were not many sporting events inside Spain. It had just come away from being a dictatorship with Franco, and so people from Europe would go for holidays. So they wanted to make swimsuits because that's where the market was. And I know that Paul Feynman and a few people said why are we doing swimsuits? We're a running company, but the market was on the beach and that's where they had a lot of sales. So I had to allow them to carry on and a lot of the markets were saying they had certain designs on the apparel that worked on their market.

10:42

So they act locally, you think globally. So what you do is you make sure that when they're using the brand, they do it correctly. They are very careful how they write Reebok. It has to be in the same script that Reebok use and it's the same with the logo. They have to make sure that the logo is perfect and I think most companies today will send the book and the book will have the logo and the way that you use it in so many different ways and it will be a template for your licensees to use.

11:11 - Ashley McPherson (Host)

And the final question, because I know our time is up could you talk briefly about the future of fashion and where you see the industry heading?

11:20 - Joe Foster (Guest)

Now that fashion is being driven at the moment by performance sports performance. You can see it all around, apart from couture. Couture is a different market, but the street fashion is driven by sports companies, really, and it's continuing to go that way. It's continuing to be. People want comfort. They want apparel and footwear that is so comfortable, they're easy to wear, easy to wash. I mean, they don't want difficult clothes. They're all becoming a little. We're dressing down a little bit really. We're not wearing ties and suits and things like that, and I think this is going to continue.

11:58

I can't see it changing away from that. There will be more fashionable looking apparel, that the materials they will use will be materials which have been I won't say invented. They're more or less used for sport. So there'll be materials that breathe, materials that are easy again to wash, and I think that's the way life is going. It's going in a much more relaxed fashion. And then there'll be the exceptions, where tuxedos will still be worn by men and gowns will be worn by women at events, but for day-to-day life it's going to be much more relaxed.

12:34 - Ashley McPherson (Host)

Awesome. Well, I want to thank you so much for your time today. It was such an honor and a pleasure. I really, really appreciate speaking with you.

12:42 - Joe Foster (Guest)

It's been a pleasure speaking to you Ashley, it really is and thank you very much.

Pump Up Your Business with Reebok Founder Joe Foster