Source: adidas Introduces the Ultraboost All Terrain Family for All Weather Conditions
The one thing about being a reseller and operating this website is that my purchasing habits are based on what is going to move quickly. While most of my time is dedicated to researching and analyzing to write for the site (hey closing that Amazon store has cost me a lot), when I do discover information and it validates something I said in another post I feel vindicated. The feeling is almost as amazing as when someone leaves a comment on my sneaker biz videos on YouTube. It’s nice to be right. Why am I rambling about me on this adidas post? A while back I stated that Nike made a serious mistake with the Flyknit Racer by not updating and releasing the shoe when it was hot. I added that they created a trifecta of shoes in response to adidas’ runners, but those three shoes were too late:
Nike’s Triumvirate Is Too Late | Dual Racer, Air Zoom Mariah and Dueltone Racer
I declared that adidas knew that they had a product that people were excited about and instead of resting on those laurels they recreated at the peak of the shoe’s interest by fans. In some instances that is a bad thing to do. For adidas it is timely and positive. adidas footwear does not have a very long life cycle for new products. Introducing new products allows for a return to what’s working which is why the NMD R1 is being released in more colors than the newer CS, XR1 and R2. People tend to find what they like and stick with it. The Ultra BOOST is a solid performer and creating a sneaker boot styled runner to be worn in winter is a very smart approach to keep adidas relevant as basketball heats up and boots become the flavor as we enter fall and winter. This new model is being presented in just the right way. The images aren’t perfect but they scream Fall is here.
The running imagery associated isn’t clean and polished, it’s gritty denoting “work”. These are the things that have kept adidas front and center. Will it be enough to offset the slowdown in sales on the NMD R2 and XR1? Possibly but at 220.00 they are clearly aiming high and it will be interesting to see if people respond to the shoe as passionately. At 240.00 on the LTD it may take more than pics that look like anyone could have shot them to relate.