Making In-Roads – Pony 2010 Spring Collection with Kyle Pulli
Seeing the brand develop immensely over the last year, we get another chance to speak to Kyle Pulli, an integral member of the current Pony revival. Although only a few seasons deep, perhaps any “comeback” or “revival” tag is something that can be placed fully in the past, as the brand has reached full-steam. This time around, we speak with Kyle in regards to Pony’s success over the last few seasons, the direction of the brand and some interesting projects on the horizon.
Interview with Kyle Pulli
Hey Kyle, what’s good? It’s been awhile since we last spoke, how are things going over at Pony?
Keeping things flowing, making calculated decisions to help get through this less than stellar economy. The brand keeps picking up momentum as we continue to push our Vintage and Vintage-inspired products. In a market overflowing with knock offs and false authenticity, we are quickly discovering consumers want the real thing. This has been a great indicator for Pony as we are a true, authentic sports brand. We believe this shift in consumer mindset gives us a clear advantage over other niche brands and is where we will focus our efforts in 2010.
No doubt. Your creation of product at the sweet-spot for pricing, in and around the $60 price mark, has garnered a lot of attention as well as resulted in sales I’m sure. In terms of authenticity, how do you think you’ve strived to establish and highlight this characteristic for Pony? In general, how do people view the quiet years of Pony between the present and its pinnacle awhile back?
Everything we’ve created thus far has been a blend of classic and innovative design, pulling inspiration directly from our rich heritage. Think newness with authentic undertones. Just about every shoe proclaims our prominent chevron logo on the side. Consistency is such an important ingredient when re-launching a brand, requiring a lot of discipline and confidence to stay the course. With that said, having such a rich history as a true authentic brand is such a competitive advantage and we’d be foolish not to aggressively push this unique quality as a vehicle to reconnect with the consumer. This transition into a more blatant, authentic product approach will be more of our focus for seasons to come. Pony was established in 1972 in Brooklyn, NY and quickly became one of the most dominant sports brands in the world. Specifically, from the mid 70’s to the 80’s in which Pony was a multi-billion dollar company, was on professional fields and courts of play, and had a true brand presence globally. It was a great era for the Pony brand and we are simply trying to recapture this spirit. Because Pony has been dormant for so long there really isn’t any tarnished perception of our brand. “What ever happened to Pony? just
disappeared,” is the often the response we hear time and time again. Fortunately, consumer’s reconnection with the brand mark has been a fond reunion thus far and is a great indicator.
Throughout many of the drops we’ve seen over the last few seasons, the designs and colors within the lifestyle collections have ultimately been quite subdued and timeless. As you gain traction, will your design language become more diverse allowing for the familiar aesthetics you’ve engrained in the brand’s last few seasons alongside more bold and risky designs? Or will things continue along the same familiar path? I would assume as you become more well-known, the opportunity to be less conservative presents itself.
This kind of relates back to the previous topic regarding brand consistency. Trying to maintain a consistent level of Pony design cues while incorporating subtle, fresh material and treatment updates has been our goal to date. This is where we excel. I think we actually went a little too aggressive regarding this Fall/ Winter collection considering the distribution channels we are currently in. On the other hand, our Spring 2010 collections bare a more understated thematic approach than those showcased in Fall/Winter ‘09. Despite a more understated material and color methodology, I believe we still were able to maintain an elevated level of freshness. Wearability is definitely the focus here. It’s all about clean, simple looks, subtle yet sophisticated detailing while still maintaining a balance of personality and wearablitiy. It’s all about clean, simple looks, subtle yet sophisticated detailing while still maintaining a balance of personality and wearability. Basic versions should be basic, not boring.
For our readers that are unaware (feel free to elaborate if you wish), Pony maintains three different channels of product in PLAY, VINTAGE and PERFORM. How do you dedicate your resources to each collection. While some big athletics brands out there can dedicate huge budgets to R&D, how does Pony cope with what is presumably less resources when creating high performance PERFORM category footwear?
