In competition with themselves?

Dansko clogs are crazy popular. I met some great folks from Anchorage that do over $1,000,000.00 in Dansko sales a year in their store. Here's the thing though, Dansko doesn't really make their own shoes (and who  really does these days with most things being made in Chinese factories). This is where it gets interesting; the company that makes Dansko's clogs, with that bombproof, uber-supportive platform that gives such great support for most feet, is now out of the confines of a patent and are going to be offering identical shoes themselves. Just try to buy a pair of Danskos in Europe, it won't happen, because they don't  exist. The salesmen you'd be describing the shoe to would tell you, "Those are Sanita Clogs you silly American". Sanita Clogs have been making footwear since 1907, and since the late 1991 making clogs for Mandy Cabot and Peter Kjellerup of Dansko. So how will this work? Aren't they essentially in competition with themselves? Will Dansko continue to thrive based on their stellar reputation here? Personally, I can't wait to get them in my store. I've always liked Dansko, but haven't carried them since a dealer is only a block and a half away.   Please, if I have my facts all wrong here let me know. I certainly did some research but could be off on something here. All this was written after overhearing an interesting conversation at the big Vegas shoe show. By the way, can you tell which one of the clogs pictured is a Dansko and which is a Sanita?

Comments

[shoestoreguy]

Actually, the Professional clog is a Sanita design: for the last fifteen years Dansko has had exclusive distribution rights in North America for Sanita's stapled-bottom clog line. Now Sanita is selling their clogs here in the states under their own name, and Dansko is moving toward producing the Professional on their own.

The patent which is expiring is Sanita's - Dansko will be releasing their version of the Professional when they're able to ramp up production.

So is Sanita competing with themselves? Not really - they're no longer selling clogs to Dansko, and Dansko has announced that it will be making 'improvements' to the Professional.

Sanita will essentially be competing with Dansko's new version of the Professional, and while they'll most likely look identical, they probably won't fit the same...