By Tracey Cheek

Jack Rogers, the 59-year-old sandal brand made famous by Jackie Kennedy, is stepping into the future of retail with a rebrand that focuses on its direct-to-consumer channel, CEO Lydia Park Luis told Cheddar on Friday.

"I think for us it was really a message to our consumers to say this is a new chapter in our life as a brand. We don't want to walk away from our existing customer ー she's young, she's loyal, she's more educated," said Park Luis. "But at the same time here's a signal to say we're doing this differently."

The rebranding consists of a new website, plus new colors, styles, products, and packaging. The brand also has a new voice, which Park Luis said is important for its social media presence. The CEO told Cheddar that she wants the brand to convey feminism, hope, sisterhood, and optimism.

"We really see ourselves as a startup with heritage," said Park Luis. "We have an iconic sandal that's been doing really well, and we look at our customer base which is still really young ー it's 57 percent millennial. So looking at this we're like, 'OK, how can we really take this and really become a footwear brand and really expand globally?'"

Park Luis joined Jack Rogers as CEO in 2018, with previous leadership roles at rag &bone, Tory Burch, and Coach. As a woman from Hawaii, she was surprised she didn't learn about the brand when she was living on the island.

"When I looked at this brand I learned about in New York, I was like, 'Why haven't I been wearing this brand in Hawaii?' I should've been wearing it my whole life," said Park Luis. "It's kind of a really well-kept secret, so there's so much opportunity for us to play there"

The CEO is hoping this revamp will get the brand to the West Coast and beyond.

"We're doing a lot more with bloggers, we're investing a lot more in technology, we've relaunched our e-commerce site," said Park Luis. "A long runway for us."

The Jack Rogers site relaunch kicked off a month ago, and Park Luis said that 60 percent of visitors are new customers and more than 50 percent are on mobile devices. The company is keeping a close eye at the metrics to enhance its direct-to-consumer model.

"We're sort of ADD looking at our phones every time," she said, "looking at the metrics, who's our customer, what's that lifetime value, and I think that's really key."

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