In celebration of Franco Arese’s 1500m victory at the 1971 European Championships, Karhu proudly introduces the Trampas ‘Franco Arese’. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Karhu Chairman’s gold medal performance in Helsinki. To honour this unique story, the Trampas ‘Franco Arese’ is made in Italy.
Source: FRANCO ARESE’S LUCKY SHORTS: REVISITING THE 1971 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
As the U.S. dives more into hype and entertainers to connect fans to brands, international brands are focused on sports and sports heritage. It’s a card out of the playbook of Nike over the years. I’m enjoying these stories from the brands and Karhu’s discussion of Franco Arese and his “Lucky Shorts” is both informative and endearing. The 1500 Meter race isn’t exactly the sexiest sport in track and field, but in the documentary above, we are able to discover a bit of European track and field history about one of the chairman for Karhu. The shoe used to celebrate the accomplishment is the Trampas, a shoe that has been my go-to for the last year. The price has been elevated here considerably, but what should be paid attention to here is that the shoe is a Karhu.com exclusive. As brands are building stronger content and driving engagement with their websites, they are able to do limited drops with their fans without wholesale. This diminishes the amount of shipping and helps with the carbon footprint slightly, but more importantly it generates higher margins for a brand like Karhu, that isn’t exactly a staple in retail in the U.S. Take a second to click through on the source link, or just watch the video. There is some great storytelling there.