Leading footwear brand, Olympic International, has shown a 25% year on year growth, despite tough economic conditions. The brand – originally inspired by the two biggest sports in South Africa, football and rugby – continues its expansion into the disciplines that are changing the face of sport in the country, as well as on the African continent and abroad.

Says Stuart Hopwood, Head of Group Marketing at Bolton Footwear: “We’ve made changes to the sales structure over the last couple of years. Furthermore, our marketing focus has shifted towards building Olympic International as a world class, locally-grown sports brand. The brand now offers outstanding technical sports footwear at affordable prices, enabling sports enthusiasts to get into their chosen sports discipline and excel at it.”

He explains that since the company was started, their ranges have kept up with the times. “Today our ranges include all the latest performance enhancing designs and technology, thus gaining popularity and acceptance from our sporty nation. Leading world technology is standard application in all our shoe designs, backed up by an international quality assurance system.”

Hopwood continues that as part of the repositioning, the company appointed a new marketing and sales team. “We now have a dedicated team with increased focus on the brand, which has led to the growth in sales. We honestly believe that this quality brand has enormous potential.”

According to Hopwood, the bulk of the range is currently imported. “The plan is to convert as much as we can to local production to create more jobs and stimulate our economy. The current climate has definitely affected sales as retailers are under pressure. Consumers feel the pinch with rising costs across all basic goods and services, and with the latest fuel hike, they’ll need to buckle up and hold on tight.”

Hopwood concludes that the company is a passionate supporter of some of the fastest growing and more technical sports locally, including netball, hockey, athletics, road and mountain bike cycling, tennis and hiking. “The brand is sought-after for its lightweight, durable, trendy and affordable selection of sports shoes that cater to both the beginner as well as elite sports enthusiasts. We’re looking towards the future and have a great team that always stays ahead of the latest developments to offer our clients only the very best. We hope our customers will continue to love our enhanced and affordable ranges as much as we do!”