Source: BUILT [ROWLEY] STRONG
In recent discussions on the sneaker industry there is a consistent refrain of performance no longer resonating and that brands like Vans or startups like Allbirds are capable of taking market share away from the big three of adidas, Nike and Under Armour/New Balance because they are focused on athletic-casual footwear.
I’ve been attempting to explain that the reason innovation and performance remain important is that performance today becomes casual in the future. Even in the success of smaller brands gaining marketshare, the rise of Allbirds as an example, performance was at the core of the initial push. For anyone who doesn’t know the story of Allbirds, you have to look to the original shoe from the company when it was Three Over Seven.
This is from Three Over Sevens’ huge Kickstarter campaign. I’m placing this here because I’m stressing that this is the same company as Allbirds. The shoe didn’t change very much from their original campaign when it was renamed Allbirds. The only thing the brand did was shift away from saying that it was a running shoe, to promoting sustainability.
Where analysts are correct is that the performance footwear isn’t being used for what the product was designed to support. Where they are wrong is that casual shoes are being used as performance models. Performance vs Casual lines are drawn and rooted in maintaining categories to justify the use of data in consulting sneaker companies and retailers. The problem with overlooking performance is that a company like Allbirds is still making shoes that by their definition on their own sites are performance models. Here is the description of a pair of Allbirds, which wouldn’t be considered performance models:
Our proprietary low-density foam helps us make the lightest, most comfortable shoe possible, complete with expert cushioning and friction control.
The unique S-curve tread array is designed to mimic the anatomical flexibility of your feet and give you natural weight distribution as you stroll.
Now this is the description of a pair of Newton Running shoes:
SOLE TECHNOLOGY
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* Performance Action Reaction Technology Package
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* Full Foot Newtonium Cushioning
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* Tactical Flex Grooves to Mirror Foot Motion
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* Responsive and Agile
What does this comparison have to do with Vans and Geoff Rowley? Vans is a shoe that is not in the performance category. If it was the growth the company has seen in the last two years would deliver a report that performance is growing in certain categories, right? Of course it would; which leads me back to the original point I made a few years back as a counter discussion:
All shoes are now performance models. While many don’t have the technical aspects which make a shoe more expensive, a Tanjun vs a Pegasus, the Tanjun for many people works as a daily running shoe. It’s a cost effective model that looks sporty and can perform when needed, but wouldn’t be utilized by a hardcore athlete.
Vans has seen growth as a performance model while it isn’t considered performance. The company realizes what they are and they constantly produce content to drive the understanding home that Vans is and will always be a performance skate company built around the athletes.
Their latest campaign for Geoff Rowley stands out as one of the best campaigns I’ve seen in the last few months and shows why Vans is making such solid headway into the current market. In the last two years the brand ramped up marketing efforts and it’s videos like this that are capturing the hearts of new customers:
What’s great about this new series is it’s rooted in a video created 4 years ago and more important it’s tied to the fact that Vans has been with Rowley since 1999. Vans is a performance brand that hasn’t deviated from what they do best and they haven’t deviated from their support of an incredible athlete who resonates with people who skate and people who don’t skate. Here is the full length video from 4 years ago.