Posted July 3, 2017

 

By John McCurry

 

Padded sock innovator Jim Throneburg credits his company’s success to his father’s simple philosophy of being the best at anything you do.

 

“He said there will always be a place in the marketplace for the best,” recalled Throneburg, founder of Statesville, N.C.-based Thorlo. “We’ve always tried to be different and serve consumer needs rather than retailer needs as our first priority.”

 

Throneburg and his dad were contract knitters of socks in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, before he founded Thorlo in 1980. With Thorlo, Throneburg has carried forward the same philosophy to being the best in foot protection.

 

To achieve that goal, the company has built its business around listening to consumers. Several years ago, Thorlo began soliciting online product reviews from consumers. Thorlo management reads these reviews every day.

 

“Ninety-eight percent of them have been positive,” Throneburg said. “Many of them tell us we have helped them with some foot problem, or have helped them to play tennis as much as they want to without blistering.”

 

Ask Throneburg about the sock business, and he will tell you that Thorlo is in the foot protection business. He noted that a lot of competitors have incorporated some of his company’s innovations, but that comes with being a pioneer.

 

“Some of them (sock manufacturers) have learned from us and are doing a better marketing job,” Thornburg said. “But that’s not the point. We changed the way the industry views itself when we developed our activity-specific product line. We really don’t consider ourselves to be in the sock business. We’re in the foot protection business. I don’t follow the sock industry stats as much as I used to.”

 

Made-in-the-USA appeal

 

Statesville is in the middle of a region of North Carolina that about 20 years ago was home to 70 percent of the hosiery made in the U.S. That number is much less now, with the survivors, such as Thorlo, manufacturing high-tech products.

 

Part of the appeal of Thorlo’s products is that the are made in the U.S. Throneburg noted that about 90 percent of consumers reviewing Thorlo products thank the company for keeping manufacturing in the U.S. Throneburg said he believes there will be a resurgence in U.S. manufacturing with better apparel brands sourcing from U.S. producers.

 

“Our consumers are big on made in the U.S.,” Throneburg said.

 

Thorlo’s latest product innovation is its Outdoor Collection, which debuted in January at the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City and in February at IPSO in Munich. The line has four types of targeted socks: Outdoor Athlete, Outdoor Explorer, Outdoor Fanatic and Outdoor Traveler. Thorlo CEO Jay Harris said the response has been favorable, but the true test will come in July when the line becomes available to consumers.

 

“Most hosiery manufacturers build a product because they can,” Harris said. “Thorlo is unique because we identify the consumer, who they are and the reality their feet are dealing with, whether it’s running or hiking, etc. We took a lot of time to understand who the consumers are and what products would complement their lifestyle. So for example, we built a product called the outdoor athlete that is geared toward for running. We also have a product geared toward a traditional outdoor enthusiast. They don’t get into the outdoors as an adrenaline rush; they get into the outdoors to escape. So we took the time to understand the nuance of consumers and engineer products that are unique to their circumstances. That was the genesis of the Outdoor Line.”

 

Asked about the brand of knitting machines Thorlo uses, Thornburg declined to specify, saying it doesn’t matter because his technicians modify all the machines they use. He said it is part of an overall approach that requires constant improvement in all areas of the company.

 

“We have to redesign all the knitting machines we use to comply to our standards, so it really doesn’t matter what we buy,” he said. “We have a staff of design engineers that customize our machinery. Our culture calls for constant improvement, thinking about what we are doing and how we are doing it. All of that is focused on the consumer.”

 

Future objectives

 

Thornburg said his company has two major objectives for the coming years. One is to establish collaborative relationships with key influential, independent retailers in the U.S. that carry shoes that are complementary to the activity-specific sock products that Thorlo makes. The other has to do with Millennials.

 

“We want to engage the Millennials because they are changing the marketplace,” Thornburg said. “In my opinion, that’s why stores are closing. Retailers have recognized that the next generation doesn’t want to do business in the same way. They have a specific kind of way of doing business. I don’t think they care about brands. They care about what they care about and you have to find a way to invite them to try your product.”

 

Added Harris regarding retailers: “There is gross instability in the marketplace with so many retailers exiting the business that it has become a real challenge for any brand in the U.S.”

 

Will Thorlo eventually expand its product line beyond socks? Throneburg has toyed for years with the idea of developing a line of shoes, so far hasn’t moved forward.

 

“We’re always considering shoes, but it’s very difficult to carry off,” he said. “We made one pass at it, but we didn’t have the right fashion coefficient set in and we backed out. It’s always on my mind, but I can’t see it right now. The entry barriers are very low for socks, but that’s not the case with footwear.”

 

Thorlo’s culture will always center on the wearers of its products, Throneburg said.

 

“Everything we do is focused on the consumer,” he said. “That’s the question we have to ask before we say yes to any investment. I haven’t been dictatorial about it, but on the other hand, there are certain rules of engagement that we have with the market.”

 

Asked what he enjoys most about working in the “foot protection” business, Throneburg was quick to cite customer feedback.

 

“Every day in our product reviews from consumers, we hear that we have really solved a problem for them,” he said. “They tell their friends and they give our products as Christmas presents for all of their family. They tell us they make their feet feel better, and that’s the most enjoyable part of my day.”