Zoombang’s Chief Product Officer, Sandy LaRowe, is no stranger to innovation. In fact, it’s been the driving force behind her internationally successful career for more than two decades. We sat down with Sandy to hear all about her fascinating past, present and future in apparel and product development.
Q: You spent several years in various roles both in the U.S. and overseas at Nike, Adidas, Wilson, etc. Without spilling any top-secret info, which key takeaways did you carry over to Zoombang?
A: My biggest takeaway has been the importance of letting the customer decide the product direction. You have to truly listen to their problems and needs, then bring them a solution that’s better than they could ever imagine — and one that helps improve their performance.
Throughout my career, it’s always been about the consumers. If we weren’t listening, nothing else would matter. At Zoombang, we have to be extra-strategic because we have several types of customers in sports, tactical, medical, industrial and more.
So here, it boils down to 1) How can we protect our customers best? and 2) How can we apply that protection across diverse scenarios and applications?
Q: How do you go about solving customer problems? How do you know when you’ve succeeded?
A: It starts with a common complaint, like “When I run, this part of my leg gets sore.” Then design, development and merchandising come together to pinpoint the root of the issue. We meet with athletes directly to gather their feedback and perform lots of testing to find a specific solution that meets and exceeds their expectations.
Beyond customer feedback affirming the product’s success, one of my projects at Nike resulted in a Maxim award for my team, which at the time seemed like the ultimate seal of approval.
Nike has 11 Maxims, or guiding brand principles, and the award is given to one project each year that best exemplifies those principles. I had the pleasure of helping lead the “Simplify and Go” project, where we created women’s bags that used the same materials as the footwear. It was a great opportunity to create a cohesive, cross-merchandising product for the consumer.
Q: Especially in the protective gear industry, what do companies need to do differently to stand out?
A: It’s critical to never rush innovation. Don’t launch until you’ve tested, tested and tested — you must be sure you’ve created something better than anything else in the market. We have a strong go-to-market strategy at Zoombang that ensures we don’t put a product out until it’s absolutely golden, and it’s proven to be very effective.
Q: Tell us about your time in the apparel industry in Europe. What are the biggest similarities and differences between European and U.S. product development?
A: As far as similarities go, athletes globally share the same passion for sports, and they all expect apparel and protection that helps them perform better. Teamwork and dedication are universal.
The spirit of athletics is the same across countries, but design, style and color trends vary quite a bit. And, of course, the popular sports are different. Here in the U.S., football and baseball are massive, while overseas, football (soccer), cricket, rugby and others are more dominant.
Q: How and why did you initially get into the apparel and product development industry?
A: I’ve had a passion for apparel since I was a little girl, and my years of working for world-class organizations has only heightened that passion. I’m just as excited about my career now as I was two decades ago.
At my very first job out of college, I was a sales rep for Ocean Pacific. This allowed me to learn, experiment and get my feet wet before immersing myself in product dev. My first product-specific job was managing the product line responsible for all adidas running products globally, and my role was based in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
Then, I spent more than 11 years leading apparel merchandising for Nike (four of those years in the Netherlands) before heading back to the States and serving VP roles with various companies, like Icebreaker, Wilson and Amazon, for another decade.
Q: How and why did you get involved with Zoombang?
A: Our CEO Joe and I actually worked for the same executive at Nike at one point. Years after we’d left, he and that same mutual contact invited me to lunch to discuss a new opportunity: Zoombang. I drove up to Scottsdale, AZ, from Tuscon with a notebook full of ideas in hand, and the rest was history.
What attracted me to Zoombang most was the endless opportunities and potential for our product line. Also, Joe is such a great leader, and the team he has built keeps me inspired daily.
Q: What’s your favorite Zoombang product? Why?
A: The Ballistic Chest Shield is truly a next-level product. There’s nothing else like it, and I believe it’s the ultimate protection for keeping our military and tactical consumers safe.
Q: What can Zoombang customers expect to see in terms of new products and features in the future?
A: We’re always working on new products across all areas, including sports, military, tactical, construction, medical and custom gear. Also, we’ll soon have new data and testing results to verify our products’ effectiveness. Continuous innovation is Zoombang’s specialty, so just wait and see!
Want to explore ways to integrate Zoombang’s revolutionary protective technology into your own product line? Sandy and the team are here to help.
