Hannahs new look

Not many New Zealand brands can claim to have been in business for 144 years. In fact, only one is older than Hannahs. So we were looking forward to hearing what Hannahs had in store for their biggest re-branding exercise in their history…

In turns out, it was more a look back to their roots, to being a family shoe store, as depicted in their archive photos of R.Hannah’s & Co. early shoe stores. The new branding is around the theme of "We Are Family" with a modern remix of the classic song We Are Family by DJ duo the Stafford Brothers and a high-energy TVC set at a family 21st party in a New Zealand memorial hall.

Hannahs (along with its comfort brand Hush Puppies and youthful brand Pulp) is owned by Hellaby Holdings Limited, along with Number One Shoes. This makes the group New Zealand’s leading footwear retailer, with three retail chains comprising 115 stores across New Zealand (and a small presence in Australia) employing 1,175 staff. Hannahs is New Zealand’s largest specialty retail footwear chain, with 53 stores under the Hannahs brand, and 10 stores under the Hush Puppies brand, two Auckland Pulp stores and 9 Pulp stores in Queensland and New South Wales. Number 1 Shoes is New Zealand’s largest specialist discount footwear retailer, with 52 stores.

There are obvious differences between the store brands – at a glance, Hannahs designs stock based on trends, and Number One Shoes buys in stock. Hannahs has more leather shoes than PU materials, and sells at a higher price point.

The key trends for SS12-13 from Hannahs and Pulp are Clean Energy Neutrals, Pale Fire Pastels, Neon, Sport Luxe, and Nautical. For men, key trends are suede with coloured soles, canvas lace-ups, and leather sports shoes.

Here are our photos from the launch…