Termination of sale of BOTAS 66, statement from BOD BOD BOD s.r.o.

From the position of the owners and operators of the BOTAS 66 STORES in Prague Old Town and Žižkov, we would like to announce to all our customers and fans that we are discontinuing the sales of BOTAS 66 footwear. The current stock will no longer be increased, and therefore this is the last opportunity to shop in our stores and botas66.com. We will inform about the exact date of closing of our sales channels regarding the stock situation.

The reason for this decision is our disagreement with the termination of cooperation by the owner of the BOTAS 66 brand, Botas a.s., with the original initiators of the brand, its authors and exclusive designers, Jan Kloss and Jakub Korouš. With regard to all contractual arrangements, we consider this step to be unauthorised and any subsequent production of footwear under the BOTAS 66 brand as unlicensed. By selling it, we would be exposed to a significant commercial risk, but above all, we would be involved in copyright infringement of both designers. As a result of this situation, and according to current information, there is no new spring collection 2020 being developed, and we would have nothing to offer our customers next year.

Along this, we do not agree with the purposeful copying of the characteristic elements of the lifestyle brand BOTAS 66, designed by the designers directly for it (shape adjustments, color and material combinations, graphic elements, etc.), into other Botas sports shoes or even into third-party products. This leads to an easy interchangeability of individual products, thus weakening their business potential, but also to a systematic denial of the designers’ contribution to the nearly forgotten traditional Czech brand.

The decision to stop selling BOTAS 66 shoes was not an easy one for us. The whole project is like our child and we still believe in its huge international potential. It is also demotivating to abandon a prosperous business that we have been building for several years. However, it is not possible for us to continue under the current circumstances. We would like to offer our sincere thanks to all our customers – not only for shopping, but also for their valuable feedback that has always moved us forward enormously. Last but not least, we would also like to thank our current and former employees and colleagues for their personal commitment and willingness to be with us.

For us, BOTAS 66 ends with the departure of its designers Kloss and Korouš after 10 years of its existence. We respect their decision not to contest the matter at this point in time, and like them, we prefer to put energy where it makes sense and where there is genuine interest. Therefore, we are preparing a brand new project for our stores. If you are interested in supporting us, follow us and keep your fingers crossed!

Darina Zavadilová
Jan Kloss (co-author and designer of BOTAS 66)

Prague, 8.10.2019