Foreword

Welcome to the first edition of the Michelin Lifestyle Internal Newsletter in 2016. We are already a quarter of the way through the year and time is flying by with so many plans in place for our business.

You will find in this newsletter a focus on our new digital platforms which is an important step for us. Having made good progress and significant investment in this area in 2015 we are now in a good position and ready to support our licensees with their digital communications and campaigns using our platforms. Two very good examples of this have already been seen with an on-line promotion on wiper blades with Pylon and a shared social media campaign on the new Babolat tennis shoe. These will be used as a test bed for future digital campaigns and help us become pioneers in digital tools, which is not optional in our business but a necessity.

On the subject of footwear, two years ago we partnered with a licensee, JV International, to develop technical soles for a range of footwear from Tennis and running shoes, to safety work boots and chef’s shoes.

Today, through our technical sole business, we are working globally with some of the leading shoe manufacturers around the world, in their sectors:

Babolat for tennis and badminton shoes, Kempa for handball shoes, TCX motorcycle boots, Rallye in Canada, Comercer in Mexico and many more that you can read about throughout this newsletter which are already available on the market.

The global market for technical soles is 500 million pairs per year and our goal is to take 5-7% of that in the next 5 years. That’s over 25 million pairs per year by 2021, an ambitious plan. But we are confident with our expertise in rubber that we can demonstrate the natural transfer of technology directly from tyres to soles and our legitimacy in this partnership. Afterall, shoes are to people what tyres are to a vehicle and they share a lot of common features.

In our next issue in June you can read more about our car accessories range, with many new product launches planned including car mats, bicycle carriers, snow chains and snow socks.

I hope you enjoy reading our first quarterly newsletter of 2016 and we welcome any enquiries or feedback you have on it .