Fabrice Le Det, the general manager of Gravis, told me Gravis will launch a skate program and new product in the spring.
Fabrice has revamped Gravis since it left the Burton mothership a year ago and moved to Orange County. Of the 20 people who used to work at the shoe brand, he kept two employees and hired 12 new ones.
“We’re smaller but they are really quality people,” he said.
In addition to the new skate program to be announced soon, Gravis has a new logo and color. The IV stands for the four pillars of Gravis’ “DNA”: Surf, skate, snow and art.
The new skate shoe that will be in stores in July will have a limited distribution just for core skate accounts, Fabrice said.
While there have been reports of a slowdown in skate shoes, Fabrice sees a chance to offer something fresh to the market.
“In every opportunity, there’s a downturn,” he said. “It’s super competitive – there are a lot of big players. We are a small fish with a big team to support us.”
