How Osiris Shoes thinks outside the box to maximise customer experience

Osiris Shoes was founded in 1996 by Brian Reid and his team: Doug Weston, Tony Chin, Laura Kim and Tony Magnusson. They realized that there wasn't much happening in the shoe industry. Everything was boring and pretty much inside the box. That's when they decided to start designing their own skateboarding shoes. Aim of the brand? Be outside the box and launch fashionable and unique shoes for kids that skate. But also for kids that want to look like they skate or who just want to look cool.  

Today the brand branched out from their skateboarding roots to include surfing, FMX, MTB and BMX. It's a remarkable mixture of vivid and bold colors with high quality materials that made the brand a success among customers. 

In an interview on our Hello Customer Podcast, Brian revealed his secrets. Listen now!  

Being outside the box 

The Osiris team represents the youth by constantly thinking outside the box and coming up with products that would speak to the youth. You have to reinvent yourself to be cool and new again. Even the name of the brand is outside the box. Osiris means: "protects us in the afterlife" and is based on an ancient Egyptian mythology.  

"Thinking outside the box is the backbone of our company and it always has been." – Reid 

During the podcast interview, Reid explained that the brand aims to create such products that couldn’t be found anywhere else. The team created products that are hip hop oriented, funky, stylish and any design the youth, especially the skaters, were looking for.  

Osiris wants to create such products that:  

• Bring people together, 
• Make them feel stylish and unique, 
• Make them feel that they are a part of something bigger. 

They even launched a collection called 'Sophistic'. Those are shoes that weren't just ideal for skating but also good enough to wear at the office.  

The Secret behind the Success  

The brand has been highly successful and dominant for the last 20 years when most businesses weren’t able to survive for 5 years. The secret, as quoted by Reid, was that they simply started with no expectations. The entire team made a major contribution in getting the brand recognition it deserves. 

"I, along with another business partner, handpicked the team. They were mostly my friends. These were the people who skated and happened to be some of the best skateboarders in the world."

 It’s All about Customer Experience  

According to Reid knowing your customers is the key to success. Without knowing who they are, where they hang out and what music they like, it's impossible to sell them a suitable product. That's why giving their customers an excellent experience is the major focus of Osirs. It's all about:  

• Emotionally connecting with people, 
• Having a relatable experience with people.  

"You can’t just create a shoe and throw it out there and say: hey hopefully people are going to come to it. You need to know your customer. You need to know where he goes, where he shops, what music he likes, where he skates. So you have to figure out who this kid is and how you’re going to make a product that relates to him."

Osiris always gave their customers what they are looking for by constantly reinventing themselves. People believe in such brands. Osiris has also narrated a message to its customers about what the brand is and what it is all about, and how willing it is to innovate and reinvent to cater to the expectations of the customers.