Keith Hufnagel 谈及与私人股权公司 Altamont Capital 的合作

人气街头品牌 HUF 自 2002 年成立起，便凭借著简约精致的图案设计，以及不随波逐流的设计风格而在街头领域站稳脚跟，如今更发展成为一个在全球范围内都小有名气的国际化品牌。为了更多的推动品牌发展，最近 HUF 接受了私人股权公司 Altamont Capital 的投资，而这家公司今年已经接连收购了 Billabong 和 Quiksilver 两大品牌的部分股权。最近 HUF 创始人 Keith Hufnagel 便接受了《Transworld》的专访，谈及了此次收购的相关质疑，并表达了将 HUF 在品牌价值和零售体验上都更进一步的希望。下面便带来此次专访的节选内容，完整内容不妨点击这里查看。

How did the deal with Altamont Capital come about? How long has it been in the works?

The team at HUF wanted to bring in a partner to help us as we grow. The business became increasingly complicated as we added product categories and expanded geographies. We feel like we have a lot of momentum and a real opportunity that we want to make sure we grab – and so we decided that if we could find a partner that could help bring experience and outside perspective then this was the time to bring them on board.

These things take a while – and we wanted to be really careful to get to know people we’d potentially be bringing into our business for the long term – so it’s been since spring from start to finish.

Why did HUF see working with Altamont and Scott Olivet as the best fit?

They have been working in the industry quite a bit and, as we got to know them, it was clear that they understood the brand and where it’s coming from. We really respect what Scott did at at places like Converse and Oakley – and thought that experience and the experience of others on the team could really be helpful.

What specific goals or initiatives have you set for the brand within the next 12 months?

We want to really build on the momentum in footwear. We are excited about what we’ve put into the market so far – and are appreciative of the positive reception.. So we definitely want to take advantage of early success. We also want to invest with our retailers in the store and make sure retail brand support is where it needs to be. Other than that – we are going to keep doing what we’re doing and hope we keep getting the great support we’ve been getting from the consumer.