Hildebran, NC, December 30, 2022 - DeFeet is announcing structural change internally to custom sales as well as domestic and International distribution. In September DeFeet announced the migration of its online B2B ordering process to NuOrder by Lightspeed. DeFeet is now shifting management to react to accelerating change in the bicycle industry globally. Over the past three years DeFeet has shifted to a fully equipped inside sales team which the company continues to fortify.
Beginning January 1, 2023 DeFeet will install Shane Cooper and Paul Willerton as co-managers of International distribution and sales. “We are seeing changes in distribution at an unprecedented pace” said Cooper, adding “We want to pay closer attention to what is happening and lean into the right partnerships and models.” DeFeet will be focusing on new models while working with existing distributors to help them become more competitive. Selling USA made products into other countries grew more challenging throughout 2022 as nearly every global currency weakened against the USD$. “DeFeet has been with some of our distributors for well over a decade” said Paul Willerton, adding “When markets change more in one year than they have in the past 20, every International business needs to make some adjustments.”
Brad Mettee will continue to represent the DeFeet Custom Shop in the United States as well as handle custom orders coming from Europe, South America and Asia. Kerri Willerton represents the DeFeet Custom Shop in the United States and Canada. Both Mettee and Willerton have over two decades of combined experience helping customers create their custom socks. “Selling small batch, high performance custom knit socks is more complex than it appears”, said Cooper. “Re-focusing our highly skilled staff in specific areas helps our customers seamlessly create and order what they conceive with their custom designs.”
Starting January 1, 2023 DeFeet is adding Morgan Cooper, son of DeFeet Founder Shane Cooper, to the DeFeet Custom Shop sales team. Cooper will handle custom sales in all of North Carolina as well as being a member of the DeFeet inside National sales team. “Having Morgan take on this responsibility is like stepping back 30 yrs for me” said Shane Cooper, adding “The feeling is heartwarming and there will be many new challenges for him while DeFeet continues to strengthen its sales structure in the coming years.”
