Where the Rubber Meets the Sidewalk

Tire companies have long extended their brands into the footwear category, not only lending their names to the collaborative shoe lines, but also providing rubber for the soles. In many cases, their brand name appears only on the bottom of the shoe.

Some examples:

• Michelin’s footwear licensing business includes hiking boots, athletic shoes, non-slip shoes for hospitality workers, and other styles, with about a dozen companies (Kapriol, Babolat, Fila, Under Armour, and Dickies among them) licensed under its Michelin Sole Power brand. The company also licenses its name for lifestyle products and automotive accessories.
• Goodyear has 101 licensees globally, with footwear one of four key categories (along with automotive products, garage goods, and lifestyle merchandise). One of its licensees, SCL Footwear Group, makes casual shoes for men under the Goodyear Performance Collection label, as well as Goodyear-branded work and safety boots.
• Hankook, a Korean tire company, collaborated with Vibram, an Italian maker of shoes and outsoles, to jointly create footwear and tires, including five products in total to start. The shoes and the tires alike were described as cutting-edge and futuristic, with good traction being a core attribute.
• Continental Tire partnered with adidas for running shoes and hiking boots. A “GetYourGrip” multimedia campaign helps explain to consumers the benefits of the partnership (again, better traction).
• Omni United, a Singapore manufacturer that designs tires under a number of different brands, including Radar, took a different path in that it partnered with Timberland to create tires under the latter’s name. The tires are meant to be recycled and used for Timberland soles after their life on the road ends.

Partnerships between tire manufacturers and shoe companies have been occurring for at least a decade, with many of the pairings living on year after year, resulting in new designs each season. And tire and footwear brands continue to forge new agreements, as tire companies increase their outbound licensing and collaboration activities, as rubber soles remain a desired characteristic in many types of footwear, and as shoe companies seek to add a perception of quality through their association with a name that is synonymous with rubber and traction.