BACKGROUND / CHALLENGE:
In 1978, a young Australian surfer founded the UGG brand on the shores of Southern California. His Aussie roots forged a strong love for sheepskin and he was convinced the world would one day share this love.
30 years later in 2008, UGG opened its first store in China in Beijing.
To help protect the brand in China and beat counterfeit merchandise, UGG hired WANT to create a Chinese transliterated brand and Chinese characters to combine with the ’UGG’ brand/identity.
SOLUTION:
Working with our team of native Chinese linguists, we looked at a vast number of possible translations and transliterations for the brand, finally selecting the Chinese characters: ‘逸格’ in pinyin Yi(4)-Ge(2) which translates to ‘comfortable style’.
OUTCOME:
Today, UGG operates in 200 stores across China and is a $1.5B business. China is about 10 percent of UGG’s global revenue and has achieved double-digit growth each year in the past. The brand is forecast to continue double-digit growth over the next five years.