Official Saucony Site – Shop the full collection of mens Saucony Originals. Choose from a variety of styles and color waves from our complete mens Originals gallery
Full disclosure, I do not and have not had access to any people within Saucony for this post. I do have a micro to macro analysis based on local analysis of footwear sales. While a micro to macro approach is not without issues, it does speak towards an underlying issue with a brand’s heat and direction when used in conjunction with analysis of a brand’s information.
First, before someone runs in and says anything about hating, Saucony Originals released my number one rated sneaker in 2017. As a matter of fact unlike most lists Saucony showed up on my top 40 sneakers list just as much as more “popular” brands. This was at a time when Saucony Originals was actually taking a hit on their Digital Direct Offense due to slow shipments. This is similar to how Under Armour encountered a lack of growth and perceived issues when some of its product had to be air freighted into the US to avoid missed shipments. When a company encounters issues with the arrival of product it’s a ripple effect. This doesn’t get to where I’m headed in this post. What I’m looking at is Saucony’s investment into influencers for the Originals releases last season and how this year they have only released one “Originals Statement” shoe.
In my words an Originals Statement shoe is a shoe like this year’s Pink Devil which was an update on the retro model released with Solebox originally. Saucony attempted to integrate new tech into the design:
The Shadow 5000 EVR is the First Misstep From Saucony in a Year
I considered this a problem as it strayed from what I thought were some of the most incredible trainer drops from any brand during 2017. In 2017 the brand released the Chocolate Pack, the Bricks, an Afew collab, the Ramen and the Originators Series. The Originators underscored an issue plaguing every brand. I’ve written about it in regard to Kendrick and Reebok, Puma and Meek Mill, K-Swiss and Gary Vee. That problem is a reliance on people as opposed to a narrative created by the brand and maintained by the brand and then reinforced via merchandising.
When compared with retro releases from Nike or adidas, Saucony’s product is priced competitively and honestly utilizes more premium materials. The problem is the original history of the shoe was never established via marketing so there isn’t a story or video of anything to promote and discuss. The narrative is left up to YouTubers and IGers with large followings. These influencers have more than likely built their brands and reputation doing videos and celebrating other brands. The introduction to Saucony is not an authentic moment and therefore only provides a temporary boost to the brand for the sole item released.
The influencer does not create a ripple effect or any residual sales on items that have been delivered by the brand. The brand then compounds this issue by creating half assed Twitter campaigns and then they reinforce the problem with zero merchandising in store. In Memphis The Vault is a sneaker shop owned by City Gear. The store is in a mall, but it feels like a slice of city sneaker boutique. Saucony is third from the door which is a very prominent location, next to the register. There isn’t one drop of merchandising surrounding the brand. What happens over the course of a month or two is that the brand is shifted to City Gear’s outlets stores and immediately dropped to 69.98. At Footlocker you can buy a pair of Saucony Shadow for 39.99. The shoes aren’t given any real estate at all. They are thrown into a back of the store wall with New Balance and Puma. Vans used to be here, but Vans got lucky with R&B and Hip-Hop artists wearing the brand. Then again Vans didn’t get lucky they stayed true to their roots of skate and invested heavily in promoting their sponsors and music events around their brand. They built it and the people eventually came.
Last year Saucony delivered a series of dope shoes. It doesn’t matter though because this year they have barely made a sound within Originators. This leads me to believe that someone on the Originals side feels that their work with Influencers didn’t lead to a break through so the focus of the brand should shift back to where they are successful, performance. This is unfortunate as Saucony delivers shoes like no other brand in the business, unfortunately they rely on guys named after Nike shoes or guys who aren’t truly committed to their brand to tell the story so they get exactly what they have, a lack of trust in the style and overall dopeness of their brand.
If a brand doesn’t tell the story first… there is no story to tell.
The Top 40 Sneakers of 2017 | #15 Saucony 5000 Chocolate Pack