Frankie4 is a Brisbane based podiatry practice which incorporates a retail footwear store. While the business has been established for almost two decades, over the last nine years Directors Alan McCulloch and Caroline McCulloch have been developing their own range of orthopaedic shoes. Caroline created FRANKiE4 – an on trend fashion footwear range keeping women’s health in mind.
How the journey started
Alan and Caroline have extensive experience in the podiatry and footwear industry: Alan is a Podiatrist who has also worked for major footwear labels and Caroline is a Physiotherapist and Podiatrist. They have treated professional sportsmen and women including members of the Brisbane Lions, Brisbane Broncos and the Queensland Bulls.
Drawing on their industry knowledge and experience, FRANKiE4 Footwear was created in response to the growing demand for women’s footwear that is both fashionable and comfortable. The footwear designs borrow technology from the sporting world and aim to alleviate and prevent heel and arch pain, plantar fasciitis, and forefoot pain.
FRANKiE4 has been recognised as an ABA100 Winner for Product Excellence in The Australian Brand Awards 2017 and as the Winner for ‘Fashion’ category in the Australian Small Business Champions Awards 2018.
Putting their best foot forward
From the early stages of their business, Caroline and Alan realised the importance of protecting their innovative ideas and have registered several trade marks and designs with the help of our attorneys. The FRANKiE4 brand is widely promoted and recognised within the shoe fashion industry and is associated with uniqueness and quality. By registering their designs and filing trade marks for their brands, FRANKiE4 has already benefited by enforcing their IP rights and stopping another shoe brand that had been using a similar trade mark to associate themselves with FRANKIE4 – thus trying to trade on FRANKIE4’s goodwill and hard earned reputation.
A strong IP strategy can take your small business to the next level and it is imperative that plans for protection be made in the early stages of the branding process. Contact one of our Trade Marks team at MBIP for an initial meeting to discuss strategy and goals.