NEW: Football boots design/development blog

[rkuchinsky]

fellow footballers,

I'm the Product Manager, Footwear Dept. for hummel International (http://www.hummel.dk) and I've just set up a new personal blog about the design and development of football boots.

I've always had lots of players and friends ask me about how new boots are designed/developed...instead of saying the same thing over and over again, I thought I'd put together a blog with all the info! check it out,

first pullover (http://pullover.blogspot.com)

I'll be going through the entire design process from concept to development to production, showing lots of new concepts, sketches and designs.

My first feature will be the development of the new hummel 6.2 Concept FG, with lots of exclusive pics (because I designed it) before the shoe hits the market feb 06!

R

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1822/1270/1600/DSC03450.jpg


first pullover (http://pullover.blogspot.com)
footwear design/development blog
football.concept.design.development.production.pics.marketing

[nvan_football]

Football boots of crocodile leather :eek: :eek: :eek: ???

[joto 3]

get a new logo... lol

<<< >>> or whatever... not so cool


just trying to help

[newby123uk]

Ha, when i saw your thread on crooked tongues i knew it wouldn't be long before it was posted on some of the football boot threads!

I think its good to give us an idea of the process involved in making the boots we play in.

As for hummell, can you give an answer to why you guys decided to sell such expensive boots in America and not try them in the UK? Did they sell at all? I think a lot of people on here would have loved to try a pair but they were so bloody expensive!

[nvan_football]

Yeah, I was also wondering why they are so expensive, way more expensive than any other brand's.

[ADIKeeper]

VERY Cool. Love the site. Keep it up, great to hear news from the inside.

[designez1]

Excellent site!!! Good to see that Hummel is doing their own thing... Don't forget to post some of those flashy design-renderings later on :)

[rkuchinsky]

Thanks everyone for the comments!

Good to hear that others out there are interested in something new and different!

At hummel, we strongly believe in going in our own direction, focused on performance and also individual character. In my opinion, true football players are ready for solid, technical, unique products that have value aside from the fact that someone is getting paid millions of dollars to wear them!

I personally think the whole sponsorship thing and endorsement thing has gotten way outta hand, and doesnt give players enough credit for thinking for themselves!

Regarding the hummel Vault products that have been sold in the US at very high prices, those products were introduced as a special campaign. They were all hand stitched, Made in Japan top quality K-Leather boots. Given the small quantity of boots we imported to the US, they were very successful and, especially with the feedback we recieved from players saying they were some of the most comfortable boots they wore.

The Vault series was never brought over to the UK, as we ran it as a US exclusive.

For 2006 however, (delivery in Feb in US, June in UK) we have a totally new line featuring a really tight selection of innovative products with great technical features and unique character, now at a wider variety of price points.

For sure I will be posting up more pics (and sketches!) of the new line on my blog. check it out for daily updates.

Cheers and thanks for the feedback!

[Tottino]

Yeah, I was also wondering why they are so expensive, way more expensive than any other brand's.


how much do they cost?

[nvan_football]

how much do they cost?
Many of them are way over $300 US

[Juventus_suporter]

hummel boot (http://www.soccer.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=1589&pcount=&Product_Id=118534) , theres the link to probably the most expensive boots other then the rare ying yang pulses!

[matthewfoo]

Any boots made in japan are quality and very ex

[Jaspero]

In the netherlands hummel boots are very cheap.
none of the boots are over 80 euro's
in my opninion the new range of hummel boots first have to prove themselves before i buy them..

[redalert101]

stop making ugly polkadotted matching crap

[DaRonaldinhoFan15]

The Hummel Professional cost US$400. I think those are the most expensive Hummel boots.

[rkuchinsky]

To answer some questions that have come up (and give a few new comments)-

1. hummel in the Netherlands is made by a licensee company. The majority of boots sold there are not the same as the international collection. This is why someone has noted the difference in price. They are completely different products. Licensee agreements like this are very common in the industry.

2. Indeed the $400 hummel Professional boots may be very expensive, but I hope everyone out there understands that were not made to be "the most expensive boot around".... only the best quality and comfort we could produce. Of course they are not for everyone, and of course we dont even sell tons of them... thats not the point.

3. The point about testing and proving the new boots before someone tries them is a great point. Later in my case study on the new boots posted on my blog, first pullover (http://pullover.blogspot.com/), I will actually be showing the whole process of how we do this (material testing, testing with players, etc.). Certainly it is VERY important!

As I mentioned earlier, part of the whole idea for hummel is to make unique products that serve more specialized needs ad allow people to express their own individuality. Some people want ultimate comfort and fit (hummel Professional)... some people want color matching polka dots (amazingly popular for the young girls market that is HUGE in the US).... Some people want gold croc skin boots (NEW 2006 6.2 Concept (http://pullover.blogspot.com/2005/07/62-concept-fg-case-study-part-0-intro.html))...

Surely I would think that not everyone wants the same thing!...

Richard
first pullover
http://pullover.blogspot.com
footwear design/development blog

[matthewfoo]

The Hummel Professional cost US$400. I think those are the most expensive Hummel boots.

I read somewhere that thier idea was to price is so high that only the wealthy could afford them. They wanted to target the higher market. And they believe that it would be a statement of thier spending power. To me thats wrong wrong wrong. totally losing the plot.

[david14]

:mad:I bought a pair of hummel denmarks and they riped after a week of pratice :mad: is there any thing that i can do i love them

[rkuchinsky]

david,

im very sorry to hear about your boots. hummel is well known for excellent quality, especially the Denmark boots and the the other top, japan made models as others have noted in this forum.

as with any product, especially one hand made, sometimes there can be issues. we proudly have a less than 1% claim rate. most brands have two or three times as many problems.

to be able to comment further about your situation, i would need some more information (model, color, wheere you are located, etc.).

please feel free to email me on my work email, rku@hummel.dk and i'm sure we can look into it.

thanks,

richard

[rkuchinsky]

Hi David,

Of course we will stand behind our products and glad to hear you loved your hummel boots.

Thanks for your PM with more information about model/etc. I have looked into the situation and am happy to say I can help!

if you can please send me your old boots (i will PM you with the details), I have arranged to be able to send you a new pair.

Officially we dont have any sort of a return policy like this as soccer boots undergo ltos of natural wear and tear, but I would like to be able to help.

Thanks,

Richard