According to several reliable sources, Kiwi may soon be discontinued as a global shoe care brand owned by SC Johnson will no longer produce it. Last year’s news of SCJ withdrawing Kiwi from UK markets due to declining sales caused quite an uproar, but global sales may no longer support its existence under SC Johnson ownership.
Kiwi is an iconic brand in shoe care, almost all adults in western parts of the world have used its products at some point in their lives. Established by Australian William Ramsay in 1906 and used extensively during World War I by both American and British armies alike. For many years it remained under Australian ownership, however in 1984 Sara Lee Corporation of the US acquired it, also buying Meltonian and other large shoe care brands that led to investigations in the 90s, this led them to limit expansion plans of their product lineup.
In 2011, Kiwi was acquired by SC Johnson, an international provider of household cleaning supplies and consumer chemicals such as Mr. Muscle, WC Duck and Glade. Employing about 13,000 worldwide with annual revenues approaching $12 billion, shoe care brand Woly Tana are part of this global company, yet Kiwi remains their big name brand, in recent decades shoe connoisseurs have moved away due to its use of silicones, nonetheless it remains popular among “regular people”.
As we all know, traditional leather footwear has fallen out of favour due to sneakers and casual outfits, thus decreasing demand for Kiwi’s wax polish product line. Last year, SC Johnson took an unusual step of discontinuing selling Kiwi in its home country of Britain due to an increase in casual shoes that do not require formal polishing and an overall decline in consumers polishing their shoes, making headlines such as Financial Times Daily Mail Independent Telegraph respectively. According to Kiwi they stated “due to an increase in casual shoes which don’t need formal care and overall decrease in consumers polishing their shoes. However will remain active in markets where formal shoe care remains relevant.”
Now it appears that SCJ has determined that such markets no longer exist, since American retailers of Kiwi have recently been informed by SCJ that it would discontinue the brand in 2024 this information came from several independent sources and cannot be confirmed with certainty, but one date stated was June 30.
Asked by BuzzFeed News to confirm if SC Johnson would discontinue Kiwi, their spokesperson responded in an email: “SC Johnson is currently investigating all available options regarding the KIWI® shoe care brand, including potential sales in certain regions. Since 2011 KIWI® has been part of our family.”
At present, it appears as if SCJ may reverse their decision and decide to continue operating Kiwi brand products, at least in certain markets. Only time will tell, unfortunately though the future doesn’t look too bright at present. Narrower shoe care niches like premium care for more serious shoe enthusiasts or sneaker care have still seen growth according to Zion Market Research estimates of worldwide shoe care market size reaching $10.1 Bn in 2022 with expected more than double growth by 2030 reaching $20,3 Bn, which would indicate more people caring about their shoes something that could surely benefit Kiwi brand products within such an ecosystem though only time will tell.
