Merchandising and marketing is no longer a retail aspect that takes place only in brick and mortar. When a store begins to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a product or a brand, traditionally they had the help of the brand through wall art or displays. Kid’s Footlocker is in the unique position of…
photo by Dee Wells @deewellsosd Initially, I said no. When Stephen Green took his time to graciously invite an unknown to what I now consider one of the most important conferences in the sneaker industry, I initially said no. I was trapped inside of something that often prevents the success of many; money. I…
Sam Handy, VP Design, adidas Running, said, “Boost is our great running midsole technology, providing the best in comfort and energy return in all conditions. We continue to evolve the material to create different cushioning experiences for different runners. For Ultraboost 19, we added 20% more Boost to a completely streamlined upper construction and Torsion design, giving runners more energy return in every…
https://algix.com https://bloomfoam.com In this episode of The Sustainability Report Ryan and I talk about the cheapest product by Bloom Foam for brands to implement into their supply chain, Bloom Foam’s Cushioned Strobel. I give Nike the business because they don’t have a product on the Algix & Bloom wall and I also present an idea…
photo via the Twitter feed of New Balance Early in 2018 I wrote this post: New Balance “Fearlessly Independent Since 1906″ is the “Originals” adidas Campaign of 2017 | Marketing In the post I explained that New Balance was making amazing strides. The signing of athletes by the brand has been almost Nike like…
A few months ago I wrote that adidas had combined with an accelerator program in Paris and they created an incubator that included over ten tech companies. The constant investment into tech appeared to be primarily in the digital space. adidas Sets Up at Platform A in Paris | The Battle for Startups In the…
Living up the company belief that sport has the power to change lives, adidas Outdoor is proud to announce a new partnership with 1Climb, a non-profit organization Source: adidas Outdoor announces partnership with 1Climb to give 100,000 kids their first climb in life In 2011 adidas acquired Five Ten. The outdoor sports company has since…
I follow a lot of brands. If you take the time to browse through the section on this site called Dope S–t I Like: https://arch-usa.com/category/dope-s-t-i-like/ You’ll find that I write about brands other sites don’t really cover. Today I took a moment to drop this post on the brand KangaROOS which I haven’t seen…
PORTLAND, Ore., March 11 th – Today, after much hype and expectation, adidas Running announces the highly anticipated collaborative project with legendary HBO® television series Game of Thrones . Sinc Source: Winter is here; adidas Running announces Game of Thrones® collaboration with six limited-edition Ultraboost Yes I watch GoT. Yes I love kicks. Do I…
I love retail. I enjoy walking into stores and discovering new products. I enjoy it even more when I walk into a store and I discover something attached the community. I want retail to survive especially sneaker retail, but I live in a city that doesn’t have a sneaker boutique. This means that I’m subjected…
Foot Locker is investing $12.5 million in children’s apparel company Rockets of Awesome. Source: Foot Locker is investing $12.5 million in kids’ clothing company Rockets of Awesome—the latest in a string of deals CNBC has taken the time to write a smart post on the investment of Foot Locker into youth subscription service Rockets of…
Today, adidas Running unveils the all-new adidas Ultraboost 19, the most responsive, energy-charged version of the iconic running silhouette to date. Source: ADIDAS RUNNING UNVEILS THE NEW ULTRABOOST 19; THE MOST RESPONSIVE ULTRABOOST EVER I still like BOOST. I’m biased. I wear Epic Reacts in different colors and I ditched BOOST based shoes outside of…
Source: A whole new way of shopping: PUMA’s unique digital experience launched in Sydney – PUMA CATch up Most of the writing I do here on the site revolves around the U.S. market. I haven’t visited other countries in a while and I definitely need a passport since I’m not military anymore, lol. The beauty…
“Platform A” at Station F, is the world’s largest start-up campus located in Paris. While the ring of the shot fired by Foot Locker resounds around the sneaker industry with the recent investment into start-up GOAT Group, adidas follows Nike and Foot Locker into the waters of the start-up ocean via an incubator styled set…
Source: Athletic Products — PERCH – The leader in Physical+Digital Retail Marketing As I move towards the launch of my book Nike’s Consumer Direct Offense, Amazon & StockX: The Disruption of Sneaker Retail, claims that I make in the book have led me on a search to find methods of improving visits to brick and…
It’s time for a revival of window displays, argues CallisonRTKL’s Ignaz Gorischek. Visual merchandising is important SOURCE: https://www.callisonrtkl.com/you-are-here/reviving-lost-art-visual-merchandising/ One of the better managers in a retail setting, Greg Garber, is often writing statements about the problems with sneaker retail. His point of view derives from over twenty years in the business and it would be wise…
I visit Hibbett Sports locations throughout the region, not as a consultant, but as a customer. I know many of the managers and the one consistent thing about Hibbett Sports is that basically many of the employees and managers that have gone through the system have either moved into higher positions or better stores. The…
Once you get around the silly spelling of Next Level, there is some real substance here. One of the primary reasons I argue with analysts who promote that brands should focus on athleisure and leave performance products alone is because unlike most analysts, I live and breath sneakers. Sneakers are my primary source of income….
via UBIQ LC23 was born in December 2010 from the idea of Leo Colacicco, a Management Engineer with the vice of e-fashion, born and raised in Gioia del Colle (Bari), who, after a period of study and work spent in Milan, returns home and decides to create his own brand and an e-commerce site where…
Filling Pieces made a concentrated effort to create a classic basketball silhouette from the 90s although the brand wasn’t around at the time. They created a chunky soled premium leather version of a basketball shoe that if it was on a wall next to a classic Jordan it would definitely give a retro a run…
images via KITH, size?, Packer and brand websites Last year I created the standards below for my Top 40 Sneakers of 2017: 2017 Top Sneakers of the Year Qualifications based on M.A.P.P.S. Materials – Premium materials are important to me… very important. Aesthetics – the way the shoe looks, colorway, cut… some of the shoes that could…
Source: Financial Times Anyone who reads this site understands that I’ve always had an affinity for Under Armour. The startup represented to me an opportunity to capture a share of the footwear and apparel market in an era dominated by Nike and adidas. Unfortunately, the more I began digging into the numbers around Under Armour…
