Jhung Yuro recently unveiled its Fall 2009 Collection of sneakers. Jhung Yuro (pronounced ‘Young Euro”) is an independent sneaker company that handcrafts each sneaker.
The company was launched in 2005 by Kris Wright. The inspiration for the company is based on Wright’s travels throughout the world.
AllHipHop.com sat down with Wright to discuss the origins of Jhung Yuro, the plans for his company and his goals for the 2009 Jhung Yuro collection.
AllHipHop.com: What was the inspiration for the Jhung Yuro Fall 2009 Collection?
Kris Wright: The Fall 2009 Jhung Yuro line was inspired by formal leather bottom men’s shoes that are typically worn by professionals that wear traditional business attire. What we able to take from these traditional hard bottom shoes and apply them to our shoes were clean lines, rich subtle details and the 80/20 color strategy which in case of the Yuro Fall collection is a majority of muted colors that falls right in line with the Fall season and nice complementary accent colors.
AllHIpHop.com: Tell us about the Fall Collection?
Kris Wright: The best way to describe the Fall collection is tight and right. We have been riding on the strategy of less is more for the back half of 2009. in the past we have offered broad assortments of product and a lot of good shoes would get lost in the mix of just having to much product. For 2009 we decided concentrated on developing the new models that we collectively felt was the right direction A. For the brand and B. Market ready. The product follows the same formula the has defined Jhung Yuro product from the brands inception, rich full grain leathers, suades, nubucks and patent leathers. Napa Pig Skin collar/sock lining and sock EVA sockliners for comfort when wearing the product.
AllHipHop.com: How did you come up with the name Jhung Yuro?
Kris Wright: The name was given to me as a nickname by my crew of friends about 8 years ago because of my affinity for traveling around the world. It began with just Yuro initially but then I was dubbed Jhung Yuro because I was the youngest of my group of friends. Additionally we all decided we would create a unique spelling for the name because we did not want the name to be to literally like the European Union’s currency and the dictionary term young.
AllHipHop.com: How did you get into the footwear business?
Kris Wright: I started my career in footwear as an intern for Reebok International while I was attending Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. Funny but true story I always knew that I wanted to be in the footwear industry, and I was persistent and diligent in my pursuit of looking for an internship. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, knocking on all of the right doors because it earned me my first ever internship and an 8 year kick start at Reebok which has turned into 13 years in the business.
AllHipHop.com: Is this what you envisioned going into the shoe game?
Kris Wright: Yes, becoming an entrepreneur is something that I always wanted for myself and aspired to be, however I did not actually know that the many job descriptions I held at Reebok would transition me into owning my own brand. I actually used to work in Sports Marketing working with professional athletes that Reebok signed to contracts and I thought my career would have continued in sports marketing transitioning into another company, industry or working on my own. Fortunately enough I was presented with an opportunity by a good friend that I worked for at Reebok to manage one of the brands hottest footwear business units at the time. Taking this job set the stage for me to become better educated on the product side of the business. Everything I learned and the experience I got managing the product side of the business was invaluable.
AllHipHop.com: What type of style would you say Jhung Yuro has?
Kris Wright: Jhung Yuro is best defined as a metropolitan lifestyle footwear brand, from a styling point of view.
AllHipHop.com: Do you plan on collaborating with any recording artists or celebrities in the future that you can discuss? Kris Wright: No celebrity collaborations or partnerships are on the horizon for the brand.
AllHipHop.com: If so, in what capacity?What are your future plans for the brand, where would you like to see it go?
Kris Wright: As a small independent brand the goal is always growth at the end of the day. Growth will come in many different forms inclusive of broader distribution, increased volume of production, robust sales and broad consumer appeal. I’m no different than any other person that owns or runs a business, I would like Jhung Yuro to experience the benefits that our great capitalist country has to offer popular consumer product brands.
