At Gumption Gear we strive to provide our readers with in-depth, informative, and balanced reviews of the latest outdoor & adventure lifestyle products. Through our new feature “The Business of Gear” we strive to introduce our readers to the personalities and ideas behind your favorite (or soon to be favorite) gear.
We recently reviewed the Soleus GPS 1.0, a no-frills, easy to use yet highly functional GPS watch for runners and offered at a price that won’t put a crunch on your wallet. After working with the GPS 1.0 we once again reached out to the Soleus team and asked them a few questions to provide you an opportunity to learn a little more about the brand.
Our thanks to the Soleus team for making this Q&A session possible.
Q: Tells us a little bit about your company, how did the brand get started?
Before Soleus, most were Nike employees, that developed and distributed Nike watches globally. Having been in the watch industry for many years, we realized when Nike Timing exited the sport watch industry that there would be a void in the marketplace. We passionately embraced wanting to give the runner a quality sport watch.
Our development philosophy is to provide the runner with “Everything They Need, But Nothing They Don’t.” Our success formula is all about having core functionality, easy-to-use features and aggressive coloring in our sport watches. Soleus running watches are created by runners for runners in the active city of Austin, Texas, USA.
Q: Bringing a new product line-up to market for any company can be difficult. As a relatively new company, what are some of the challenges you’ve experienced?
Creating brand awareness when your product is new to the marketplace can be challenging; however grass-roots marketing, and offering a “cool factor” with our products has been a plus in the social media arena. The bloggers have been quite positive in their reviews; which have gained momentum as we continue to launch new products. Currently we are reaching the core consumer with online media, event sponsorships, great in-store merchandising, product seeding and continuous word-of-mouth.
Q: What sets Soleus apart from other brands?
We have very cool running watches unlike the other brands out there! Simplicity, ease-of-use and large viewing areas along with our creativity sets us apart. Every watch has a unique “squiff” engraved into the caseback. We will not sell into the mass marketplace. We will stay true to our brand, our price-point structure and continue to distribute into the appropriate sporting goods and running specialty door channels.
Q: What can you tell us about Soleus after sales support?
We offer 1-year manufacturer warranty’s on all of our products. Our customer service department has been quoted as one of the best in this industry. Our after-sales service will go above and beyond to make it right with our customers even if that means providing a brand new watch.
Q: What else can we expect to see in the coming year(s) from Soleus?
The sky is the limit. We are continuing to design and develop innovative products everyday that stay true to the running brand that we are. We listen to our consumers feedback and continually aim to deliver to their needs. Our future consists of new technologies, line expansions, global distribution and offering only the highest quality products!
Q: If there was only one thing you could tell people about the brand, what would it be?
We are runners first and foremost and we provide “Everything You Need, But Nothing You Don’t.” Soleus picked up where Nike Timing left off – and we don’t take that lightly. We are a visionary company with a quality team of diligent characters invested in creating quality first-class watches.
Q: Where can people get the Soleus line-up of products?
We are in over 400 Running Specialty Retailers across the country and they’re doing a fabulous job selling Soleus. You can also find Soleus in Dicks Sporting Goods, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Road Runner, Sport Chalet, and numerous Fleet Feet locations. To also mention we are now in several countries around the world!
Q: Is there anything else that you think our readers should know about Soleus Running?
We truly pride ourselves in retailer associate training and offer store support from top-to-bottom. We listen. If there is a suggestion or constructive advice given we will explore the possibilities! We stand behind our product guaranteed – if there is a problem, we will make it right.