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The Future of

Footwear Is Here

Introducing the World’s First Compostable and Recyclable Midsole OrthoLite Cirql is a recyclable and industrially compostable foam created as an alternative to conventional footwear plastics. Why? With an estimated 20 billion pairs of shoes produced each year, we need intentional focus on end of life if we are to achieve true circularity in footwear. Cirql is the solution. Welcome to the future of sustainable footwear.

POWERED BY PLANTS Cirql midsoles deliver the comfort and performance you expect from OrthoLite, with a true focus on end-of-life sustainability. Made from responsibly-sourced plants and biodegradable materials, Cirql is the first ever, soil-to-soil footwear foam.

A MANUFACTURING BREAKTHROUGH THAT’S PURE GENIUS Cirql’s patented foaming process is ingeniously simple. It eliminates the use of toxic and hazardous chemicals commonly used in footwear manufacturing. It also reduces energy consumption and creates a finished product with no curing times. Simply genius.

Be an industry leader at OrthoLiteCirql.com

EVA Plastics- Free Foam

Chemical-free foaming process

Reduced energy consumption

Zero-waste production

Recyclable

Industrially Compostable

Untitled-6 2 3/7/22 6:12 PM

The Future of

Footwear Is Here

Introducing the World’s First Compostable and Recyclable Midsole OrthoLite Cirql is a recyclable and industrially compostable foam created as an alternative to conventional footwear plastics. Why? With an estimated 20 billion pairs of shoes produced each year, we need intentional focus on end of life if we are to achieve true circularity in footwear. Cirql is the solution. Welcome to the future of sustainable footwear.

POWERED BY PLANTS Cirql midsoles deliver the comfort and performance you expect from OrthoLite, with a true focus on end-of-life sustainability. Made from responsibly-sourced plants and biodegradable materials, Cirql is the first ever, soil-to-soil footwear foam.

A MANUFACTURING BREAKTHROUGH THAT’S PURE GENIUS Cirql’s patented foaming process is ingeniously simple. It eliminates the use of toxic and hazardous chemicals commonly used in footwear manufacturing. It also reduces energy consumption and creates a finished product with no curing times. Simply genius.

Be an industry leader at OrthoLiteCirql.com

EVA Plastics- Free Foam

Chemical-free foaming process

Reduced energy consumption

Zero-waste production

Recyclable

Industrially Compostable

Untitled-6 3 3/7/22 6:13 PM

Fashion market trends have undoubtedly fluctuated and flowed toward comfort and practical-ity, particularly in footwear. And

brands such as uin Footwear are fastening their focus on a niche segment – the travel shoe – that reflects the distinctive lifestyles, wants, and needs of consumers.

Originating in the ancient hilltop city of Toledo, Spain, the brand is led by shoe designer Fernando Acevedo, who was inspired to design a pair of travel shoes after observing his wife Ana struggle to find footwear suitable for travel from her siz-able collection. As he began to think about designing a unique shoe made specifically for travel, Acevedo decided that art and a “strong Spanish style” would define the aesthetic.

“At present, the primary categories of shoes in the market are dress shoes and sports shoes, but as people’s lifestyles become increasingly diversified post-pandemic, var-ious scenes and settings change when trav-eling through urban, seaside or fashionable environments, or even for daily wear,” he said – and uin Footwear’s travel shoe can be worn in multiple milieus.

FASHION AND FUNCTIONAcevedo explained that moving through

continuously shifting landscapes – the essence of travel itself – creates a need for a single, multi-hyphenate shoe. “In these different scenarios, these two types of foot-wear alone can no longer meet people’s dif-ferent wearing and outfit matching needs. Besides, clothing is very diverse, which illus-trates shoppers’ different styles, but the styles of shoes are generally monotonous.”

It’s why uin Footwear tries to address the “varied matching problems of people in dif-ferent scenarios,” Acevedo said. And with all that in mind, Acevedo ultimately landed on a foot-shaped design, massage insoles, 100 percent natural cotton canvas materials, and ultra-light EVA soles, among other qualities, that collectively deliver a barefoot-like expe-rience for the wearer.

“The canvas upper with colorful pat-terns tell different traveler’s stories. From the inside out, it gives people a chance to express their own style with artistic patterns, while enjoying the comfort and freedom brought by the bionic design. It indeed brings about

a comfortable and happy journey for both body and mind,” Acevedo told FN. “It is a pair of shoes that make people want to set off on a journey.”

Its footwear philosophy is centered on three core ideas: Progressing from functional design to natural design; a shift from merely functional value to emotional value (“A pair of shoes that carry emotional expression and resonance bring hope, warmth, soothing and encouragement to travelers with inter-esting, loving, rich and touching patterns, especially during the pandemic,” Acevedo noted); and moving away from traditional Color Material Finish (CMF) design to artis-tic design. “We replaced traditional CMF design with rich patterns, and redefined design with aesthetic value, emotional sig-nificance and attitude expression contained in the patterns themselves,” he explained.

For example, Acevedo said he crafted the “Toledo Shoe” with a 3-D map of the cher-ished Spanish city in the sole’s design, inte-grating “a profound and beautiful history” into the shoe itself.

FOOTWEAR MARKET MOODSThe brand said that during the pan-

demic period, it saw its sales increase

ten-fold. “Under the influence of the epi-demic, travel restrictions issued by various countries brought a wave of growth oppor-tunities to online e-commerce businesses, and simultaneously, people had more time for deeper self-exploration, which has pro-duced a higher pursuit for the emotional value of products,” Acevedo explained.

“Our brand creates the opportunity for people to wear beauty on their feet and showcase creative and artistic designs, so that every step people take can inspire the enthu-siasm for life for themselves, their friends and family, bringing warmth and inspira-tion. That subsequently generates a strong emotional resonance with our customers.”

The company sees sales in more than 100 countries worldwide, and in the U.S. market, uin Footwear saw a fifteen-fold sales increase from 2019 to 2021. “We have nine product series that support different needs of specific groups of people, seasons and travel scenarios. Our Toledo style, as a super prod-uct, attracts users globally, especially the U.S. consumers that advocate natural and inno-vative design.”

As far as what consumers want now, uin Footwear says that the pandemic has only increased shoppers’ longing for travel. “The

pandemic has restricted people’s freedom of travel, while their desire for it has become stronger. In 2021, uin Footwear launched a campaign, ‘Travel in My City,’ which received a warm and positive response from consumers. During the pandemic, we also launched a design of ‘Nurse Shoes’ to express our respect for the medical workers. This design remains one of our bestselling shoes to date.”

Acevedo’s concept indeed aligns with the direction and current mood of the market. “The pandemic has further enhanced peo-ple’s health awareness and strengthened the relationship between human and nature. More people voluntarily go outside and get closer to nature,” he said – which means, naturally, an increase in travel.

The pandemic has also motivated peo-ple to seek spiritual comfort and encour-agement, Acevedo said. “Under these circumstances, uin Footwear is inspiring people with its simple and natural design, and rich and creative artistic patterns, with our buoyant Smiley Collection; storytelling Destination Collection; humanistic IP Col-laborative Collection; Pet Collection; and Blossom collection all receiving very posi-tive market feedback.”

Spanish designer brand uin Footwear talks travel shoes and forthcoming trends.

Shoppers seeking shoes that transcend traditional categories can peruse uin Footwear’s latest lineup for spring.

Premiere of the ‘Travel Shoe’ Footwear’s Third Eye

6 7

Ask uin Footwear about its debut of “travel shoes,” and the brand will emphatically explain the logic behind the launch. “Travel shoes are people’s ‘third pair of shoes,’ uin Footwear told FN. “Everyone

needs three pairs of shoes in their life: The first is dress shoes; the second is sneakers; and the third is travel shoes.”

The brand asserts that the “blue ocean of travel shoes has yet to be developed,” compared to other footwear seg-ments that have already matured in the market.

Based on its own customer feedback, the brand said that “Our travel shoes are the ‘center-shoe’ in the crowd. In terms of outfit matching, shoes are an indispensable accessory.”

Its focus on art takes form in creating painted travel shoes with imaginative patterns “as a way of expressing fashion styles and personal emotions, making people become the focal point of their journeys. That is why we call them “cen-ter-shoes,” the brand told FN.

To keep up pace in a chameleonic market, uin Foot-wear said that it plans to “Vigorously promote artist cooper-ation and cross-border co-branding to continuously improve brand value.” Part of its strategy is a partnership with the National Gallery, which launched this month and a con-tinued effort to seek additional collaborations with artists around the world. Shoppers can peruse the latest from uin Footwear on its official website.

The brand aims to provide better service for its custom-ers worldwide and establish a wider distribution network in the footwear industry to strengthen its global and local deliv-ery capabilities, with a particular focus on the U.S. market.

“We hope to establish cooperative relationships with pro-fessional marketing companies to optimize brand expression and increase brand communication with U.S. consumers,” the brand explained. “By creating and sharing beautiful travel stories, uin Footwear brings pleasant experiences to travelers around the world and aspires to become a world-renowned travel brand

Travelers in Park Guell, Spain

P O W E R E D B Y P O W E R E D B Y

Fairchild Studios_FN_UIN.indd All Pages 3/7/22 3:37 PMUntitled-4 2 3/7/22 5:11 PM

Fashion market trends have undoubtedly fluctuated and flowed toward comfort and practical-ity, particularly in footwear. And

brands such as uin Footwear are fastening their focus on a niche segment – the travel shoe – that reflects the distinctive lifestyles, wants, and needs of consumers.

Originating in the ancient hilltop city of Toledo, Spain, the brand is led by shoe designer Fernando Acevedo, who was inspired to design a pair of travel shoes after observing his wife Ana struggle to find footwear suitable for travel from her siz-able collection. As he began to think about designing a unique shoe made specifically for travel, Acevedo decided that art and a “strong Spanish style” would define the aesthetic.

“At present, the primary categories of shoes in the market are dress shoes and sports shoes, but as people’s lifestyles become increasingly diversified post-pandemic, var-ious scenes and settings change when trav-eling through urban, seaside or fashionable environments, or even for daily wear,” he said – and uin Footwear’s travel shoe can be worn in multiple milieus.

FASHION AND FUNCTIONAcevedo explained that moving through

continuously shifting landscapes – the essence of travel itself – creates a need for a single, multi-hyphenate shoe. “In these different scenarios, these two types of foot-wear alone can no longer meet people’s dif-ferent wearing and outfit matching needs. Besides, clothing is very diverse, which illus-trates shoppers’ different styles, but the styles of shoes are generally monotonous.”

It’s why uin Footwear tries to address the “varied matching problems of people in dif-ferent scenarios,” Acevedo said. And with all that in mind, Acevedo ultimately landed on a foot-shaped design, massage insoles, 100 percent natural cotton canvas materials, and ultra-light EVA soles, among other qualities, that collectively deliver a barefoot-like expe-rience for the wearer.

“The canvas upper with colorful pat-terns tell different traveler’s stories. From the inside out, it gives people a chance to express their own style with artistic patterns, while enjoying the comfort and freedom brought by the bionic design. It indeed brings about

a comfortable and happy journey for both body and mind,” Acevedo told FN. “It is a pair of shoes that make people want to set off on a journey.”

Its footwear philosophy is centered on three core ideas: Progressing from functional design to natural design; a shift from merely functional value to emotional value (“A pair of shoes that carry emotional expression and resonance bring hope, warmth, soothing and encouragement to travelers with inter-esting, loving, rich and touching patterns, especially during the pandemic,” Acevedo noted); and moving away from traditional Color Material Finish (CMF) design to artis-tic design. “We replaced traditional CMF design with rich patterns, and redefined design with aesthetic value, emotional sig-nificance and attitude expression contained in the patterns themselves,” he explained.

For example, Acevedo said he crafted the “Toledo Shoe” with a 3-D map of the cher-ished Spanish city in the sole’s design, inte-grating “a profound and beautiful history” into the shoe itself.

FOOTWEAR MARKET MOODSThe brand said that during the pan-

demic period, it saw its sales increase

ten-fold. “Under the influence of the epi-demic, travel restrictions issued by various countries brought a wave of growth oppor-tunities to online e-commerce businesses, and simultaneously, people had more time for deeper self-exploration, which has pro-duced a higher pursuit for the emotional value of products,” Acevedo explained.

“Our brand creates the opportunity for people to wear beauty on their feet and showcase creative and artistic designs, so that every step people take can inspire the enthu-siasm for life for themselves, their friends and family, bringing warmth and inspira-tion. That subsequently generates a strong emotional resonance with our customers.”

The company sees sales in more than 100 countries worldwide, and in the U.S. market, uin Footwear saw a fifteen-fold sales increase from 2019 to 2021. “We have nine product series that support different needs of specific groups of people, seasons and travel scenarios. Our Toledo style, as a super prod-uct, attracts users globally, especially the U.S. consumers that advocate natural and inno-vative design.”

As far as what consumers want now, uin Footwear says that the pandemic has only increased shoppers’ longing for travel. “The

pandemic has restricted people’s freedom of travel, while their desire for it has become stronger. In 2021, uin Footwear launched a campaign, ‘Travel in My City,’ which received a warm and positive response from consumers. During the pandemic, we also launched a design of ‘Nurse Shoes’ to express our respect for the medical workers. This design remains one of our bestselling shoes to date.”

Acevedo’s concept indeed aligns with the direction and current mood of the market. “The pandemic has further enhanced peo-ple’s health awareness and strengthened the relationship between human and nature. More people voluntarily go outside and get closer to nature,” he said – which means, naturally, an increase in travel.

The pandemic has also motivated peo-ple to seek spiritual comfort and encour-agement, Acevedo said. “Under these circumstances, uin Footwear is inspiring people with its simple and natural design, and rich and creative artistic patterns, with our buoyant Smiley Collection; storytelling Destination Collection; humanistic IP Col-laborative Collection; Pet Collection; and Blossom collection all receiving very posi-tive market feedback.”

Spanish designer brand uin Footwear talks travel shoes and forthcoming trends.

Shoppers seeking shoes that transcend traditional categories can peruse uin Footwear’s latest lineup for spring.

Premiere of the ‘Travel Shoe’ Footwear’s Third Eye

6 7

Ask uin Footwear about its debut of “travel shoes,” and the brand will emphatically explain the logic behind the launch. “Travel shoes are people’s ‘third pair of shoes,’ uin Footwear told FN. “Everyone

needs three pairs of shoes in their life: The first is dress shoes; the second is sneakers; and the third is travel shoes.”

The brand asserts that the “blue ocean of travel shoes has yet to be developed,” compared to other footwear seg-ments that have already matured in the market.

Based on its own customer feedback, the brand said that “Our travel shoes are the ‘center-shoe’ in the crowd. In terms of outfit matching, shoes are an indispensable accessory.”

Its focus on art takes form in creating painted travel shoes with imaginative patterns “as a way of expressing fashion styles and personal emotions, making people become the focal point of their journeys. That is why we call them “cen-ter-shoes,” the brand told FN.

To keep up pace in a chameleonic market, uin Foot-wear said that it plans to “Vigorously promote artist cooper-ation and cross-border co-branding to continuously improve brand value.” Part of its strategy is a partnership with the National Gallery, which launched this month and a con-tinued effort to seek additional collaborations with artists around the world. Shoppers can peruse the latest from uin Footwear on its official website.

The brand aims to provide better service for its custom-ers worldwide and establish a wider distribution network in the footwear industry to strengthen its global and local deliv-ery capabilities, with a particular focus on the U.S. market.

“We hope to establish cooperative relationships with pro-fessional marketing companies to optimize brand expression and increase brand communication with U.S. consumers,” the brand explained. “By creating and sharing beautiful travel stories, uin Footwear brings pleasant experiences to travelers around the world and aspires to become a world-renowned travel brand

Travelers in Park Guell, Spain

P O W E R E D B Y P O W E R E D B Y

Fairchild Studios_FN_UIN.indd All Pages 3/7/22 3:37 PMUntitled-4 3 3/7/22 5:15 PM

F O OT W E A R N E W S // M A R C H 1 4 , 2 0 2 2 // F O OT W E A R N E W S . C O M

A LEG UPPAIRED WITH JIMMY CHOO’S NEOPRENE COSMOS SHOES, ALO YOGA’S NEW AIRBRUSH FLUTTER LEGGINGS HINT AT A NEW SILHOUETTE TAKING HOLD FOR THE WEAR-EVERYWHERE APPAREL.

8

INSIDER 13 � e Road

to VictoryThe four opportunities running companies are addressing now.

16 Coaching SessionJim Weber shares leadership lessons from his new book.

18 Match PointTennis has seen an explosion of new fans and young talent.

FN MILESTONE: CONCEPTS

22 Real TalkConcepts founder Tarek Hassan sits down with rapper and sneaker lover Fabolous.

26 Area CodesHow the Concepts banner is growing on all fronts.

32 � e Art of StorytellingInside the mind of Concepts creative director Deon Point.

34 Lobster TalesNever-before-told secrets of the popular sneaker series.

36 Good WordsBrand partners break down the retailer’s winning formula.

THE LIST 47 Shoe to Know

Lululemon debuts its much-anticipated sneaker line.

48 Land of OpportunityWhy Oofos is taking its recovery concept to the outdoor market.

50 Hello BrooklynA peek at the new Ecco Studio at the Brooklyn Navy Yards.

51 Turn Up the HeatHow Hari Mari found eco inspiration in the desert.

52 First LookRyka delivers the fi rst sneaker collection for pregnant women.

53 � e BuzzNew recovery releases from Kane, Vionic and Hoka One One.

54 Back to the EarthOrthoLite tackles circularity with its fi rst midsole product.

55 Five QsThe inside scoop on K-Swiss’ collab strategy.

56 Got the GoodsStadium Goods debuts a new look as resale booms.

FN PICK 58 Honoring

UkraineDemna Gvasalia’s Balenciaga show was a tribute to refugees.

40

ON THE COVERPhotographed by DEREK WOOD

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Quick, easy and accurate. All the features and benefits you could

possibly need in one compact device.

ALBERT 2 PROThe Ultimate All-In-One Foot Scanning Solution

Call 800.526.2739 or visit aetrexb2b.com

Meet the Expert- presents -

How to Check a Foot Scanner for AccuracyScan to watch video

Untitled-1 1 2/16/22 1:15 PM

ootwearnews.comA S N E A K P E E K A T S O M E O F O U R B E S T U P C O M I N G C O N T E N T .

V I D E O SG A L L E R I E SS T O R I E S

CATCH UP ON ALL THINGS COACHELLA

April 15After a two-year COVID hiatus, the Coachella music festival returns bigger than ever with headliners like Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Kanye West. Surrounding the music acts, brands will host over-the-top activations that translate to major marketing opportunities via trendsetters, infl uencers, media and other famous faces. We look at how brands have turned around their strategies for a big comeback.

AIR MAX DAY MARKS ITS BIG ANNIVERSARY

March 26Nike’s Air Max 1 is celebrating its 35th anniversary with much fanfare and special releases, and FN is here for it. We’ll explain everything you need to know about the brand-created annual holiday.

CELEBRITY STYLE STARS AT THE ACADEMY AWARDS

March 27Celebrities won’t be the only boldface names on the red carpet at the 2022 Oscars, where designer brands do their part to celebrate outstanding achievements on the big screen. We reveal the best looks of the night.

PRICES ON THE RISESOURCE: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

The year-over-year increase in consumer prices in February7.9% 1982 The last time

the U.S. experienced this level of infl ation 10.3% The rise in prices

for children’s footwear last month

The 94th Academy Awards will air on ABC

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Olivia Culpo at the Revolve Festival at Coachella 2019

TETHERED TO NOTHINGASH BARTY FOR FILA

Designed to perform. Elevated to outpace

every other shoe on the court. The FILA Axilus

Energized 2.0 puts the agility FILA fans love

front and center, featuring tennis pro-approved

response, lightness and style.

#FILATENNIS

FILA.COM

Untitled-11 1 3/8/22 10:15 AM

SUSTAINABILITY

THAT PERFORMS

Sporting 57% Total Eco Content by combining43% production waste foam, 7% castor oil and7% recycled rubber - OrthoLite® HybridPlus-Bio™delivers eco-comfort with all-out performance.

Untitled-5 1 3/7/22 5:53 PM

INSIDERT H E B I G S T O R Y 13 L E A D E R S H I P I N S I G H T S 16 M A R K E T W A T C H 18

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In the ultracompetitive running market, success is never guaranteed. Industry leaders reveal four

opportunities that could set a new pace for brands.

In the ultracompetitive running market, success

� e Road to Victory

BY PETER VERRY

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Since the onset of the pandemic-created running

boom, leaders in the category have been open

about the many ways they’ve leaned into the

business. But as consumer lifestyles shift once

again in 2022, they must enact new strategies to

engage athletes of all types.

Below, market experts pinpoint four

opportunities that running brands will have

to capitalize on to cross the fi nish line before

the competition.

POSITION RUNNING SHOES AS STREETWEARPerformance running shoes haven’t been in favor

with the fashion set for some time, but insiders

suggest that is about to change.

“There are more people running, more

people are wearing running shoes and people

are going to want to look like the next trend.

When a fashion element comes in, it changes the

dynamics signifi cantly,” said Matt Powell, senior

sports industry adviser with The NPD Group Inc.

“There are a lot of people who want to look like

a runner, but not like a hard-core runner. We’re

going to see people who want to wear running

shoes as casual footwear.”

Wendy Yang, president of the performance

and lifestyle group at Deckers Brands, also

believes performance run will be adopted

for style, and thinks Hoka One One is well

positioned to capitalize.

“Running shoes represent the biggest segment

of the performance category. While consumers wear

them to help them perform, they also buy them for

how they make them look and feel,” Yang said. “At

Hoka, we call the intersection of performance and

trend Lifestyle Athletics. We’ve built this segment

in an authentic way at Hoka, by taking some of

our most popular performance franchises, such as

Bondi and Mafate, and dressed them in interesting

materials, with color-blocking and fi nishings that

make them a standout for trend consumers.”

She noted that the adoption of Hoka footwear

in the streetwear space provides the brand a key

opportunity to widen its consumer fanbase.

As fashion trends start to lean toward running,

Powell believes brands need to adjust their

approach to product delivery to meet the demand.

“The way performance running shoes are

traditionally brought to market is brands

transition out of last year’s model during the

summer and reintroduce new styles in the fall,”

Powell said. “If we see the business becoming more

of a fashion [play], the demands for newness are

great. There will need to be constant introduction

of new products, new colorways, new materials,

maybe bringing back dormant styles. The releases

will be smaller and faster.”

According to Powell, the athlete who is new

to running is going to drive this trend, forcing a

change in mindset of the marketplace.

“The new runner does not think about

footwear like the old runner did. They want

shoes that look cool, they also want shoes to be

versatile, that they can wear for more than just

running,” Powell said. “New customers are going

to buy shoes in a different way, and that will

force the market to respond.”

The industry insider believes two brands are

well-positioned to lead this trend: Puma and On.

“Puma came out with a new running line 18

months ago that looked trend-right from the

beginning. They were able to marry performance

and fashion in a shoe,” Powell said. “I’m also seeing

On worn by non-runners, and their products lend

themselves to fashion. It has a visible technology,

people recognize that it’s an On shoe right away,

and they have opened their distribution to fashion

Running has accelerated at a relentless pace over the past two years, and

the path to success has been as open as the roads where people log their miles.

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The On Cloudnova for fall ’21 gets a fashion treatment

A Birkenstock pop-up at Naperville Running Co.

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He continued, “The world is fl at in terms of

making good shoes. There are tons of companies

doing a great job, and because there’s a lot of good

stuff out there, what’s the differentiator?”

Yang agrees, and pointed to purpose as a worthy

differentiator. “The new generation of consumers

don’t just purchase based on a product or price —

but on how well a brand’s values align with their

own. Ethically feeling good about a purchase is

more important than ever before,” she explained.

This “proving your value” mindset, according to

Fitzgerald, is also critical for retailers.

“Why would you come to a shop? Why would

you hear of a shop? You can’t just be talking about

GAIT analysis, it can’t just be free runs. What’s

going to actually connect?” Fitzgerald explained.

“If we can’t tell big stories, link to big moments

and infuse our brand into them and make it

powerful and fun, then we’re failures.”

For Heartbreak Hill., this was evident in its

private-label Internationalist race kit that was

released on the eve of the opening ceremonies of

the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

The retailer created a bold look merging several

vastly different bits of inspiration, including the

rebellious attitude Fitzgerald became enamored

with during his time in the surf industry and Yves

Saint Laurent’s famed Piet Mondrian-inspired

cocktail dress from 1965. As for the colors,

Heartbreak tied them to the Olympic rings — blue,

yellow, black, green and red.

That combination of high ideals and high

fashion, paired with the desire to celebrate sport, is

what Heartbreak consumers crave, said Fitzgerald.

“In its execution, in terms of brand vision and

how it looks and releasing it on the eve of Beijing, it

came together in a way that is powerfully authentic,

even though, if you take any one of those elements

alone, it sounds crazy,” he explained.

Looking ahead, the retailer said Heartbreak

Hill will story-tell through its private label for the

Boston Marathon by focusing on modern medicine

and the city’s place in innovating that space. Also,

the retailer will carry the story out through efforts

to highlight stories of caregivers.

retailers. That positions them well.”

And with the recent introduction of

Lululemon’s fi rst running sneaker, the category

could could see a further demand spike among

casual wearers.

EMPHASIZE RECOVERYOne of the biggest opportunities for the run

market, players in the space say, is also one of the

more obvious ones: post-run recovery.

“Most running stores have started playing

in that game a little bit. If they haven’t, they

should,” said Kris Hartner, owner of Illinois-based

Naperville Running Co.

The storeowner said the concept of recovery

within the specialty run channel took off 15 years

ago with nutrition, then progressed into products

such as compression socks and apparel, tools such

as the Hyperice suite and more. The footwear

portion, according to Hartner, gained momentum

with the introduction of Oofos in 2011.

Hartner told FN he saw the opportunity there

and was the fi rst run specialty store in the U.S.

to carry the brand. And in April 2020, he also

made the decision to once again stock comfort

favorite Birkenstock.

“For some stores, that combo of having both

Oofos and Birkenstock — very cleanly distributed

products that are hard to get, they’re not

everywhere — is a no-brainer,” Hartner explained.

He said Naperville Running Co. will invest

even further in post-run recovery this month.

The retailer has turned its Annex door into a

Birkenstock pop-up shop, which will remain open

until June, and it will launch an Oofos shop-in-

shop in its South store.

While Oofos has been clear and steadfast in

its focus on recovery since its debut, Birkenstock

is a relative newcomer to ahletic retail channels.

In January 2021, the company tapped industry

veteran Jim Van Dine, a former president of Hoka

and co-founder of Ahnu, to boost its presence in

the run specialty channel.

“The intention is to further emphasize the

orthopedic benefi t of [Birkenstock] versus just the

casual fashion aspect. That is at the heart and soul

of what Birkenstock is all about,” Van Dine told

FN. “That’s how it started more than 200 years ago

in Germany, that’s how it was introduced to the

U.S. almost 60 years ago, but the fashion success

has overwhelmed [that aspect of the brand].”

Van Dine, who will join Birkenstock as its

director of the athletic and outdoor category in

April, said he has landed 50 to 60 new accounts in

the channel — starting with Naperville Running

Co. — and has 10 to 20 more in his queue. The

goal, Van Dine said, is 160 doors a year from now.

FOCUS ON TRAIL RUNBoth running participation and visits to outdoor

spaces climbed as COVID-19 swept the country

two years ago, so it’s fi tting that trail running — a

marriage of both activities — has become a greater

focus for sneaker brands.

According to the Sports & Fitness Industry

Association’s 2022 Topline Participation Report,

12.5 million hit the trails for a run in 2021, a 5.6%

increase over the 11.9 million people who engaged

in the activity in 2020 and a 13.9% increase over

the 11 million people in 2019.

At The Running Event in Austin, Texas,

last December, industry powerhouses such

as Altra, Speedland and La Sportiva revealed

their upcoming styles for fall ’22, and the most

compelling selections were in the trail space.

One of the more eye-catching looks of the show

came from Hoka with the Tecton X, its fi rst trail

shoe with a carbon plate that will arrive in May.

Hoka’s focus on the category, and intent on leading

the competition, is intentional, according to Yang.

“Hoka was born in the Alps, and because

of that, we will always view trail running as a

critical part of our DNA,” she said. “That’s why we

deliver a range of trail and hike products for all

consumers, whether they are just starting out in

their trail running journey or competing on the

trails of Chamonix [France].”

Its focus on trail was further realized in

October 2021, when the brand signed a multiyear

partnership to become the fi rst global premier

partner of the UTMB World Series in Chamonix.

The partnership extends through 2023, and there

are options to extend it to 2024 and beyond.

COMMUNICATE YOUR VISIONDan Fitzgerald, co-owner of Heartbreak Hill

Running Co., believes the market’s greatest

opportunity is simply: “Tell me why I should care

about you.”

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Runners in the Puma Velocity 2

“THE NEW GENERATION OF CONSUMERS DON’T JUST PURCHASE BASED ON A PRODUCT OR PRICE — BUT ON HOW WELL A BRAND’S VALUES ALIGN WITH THEIR OWN.”—WENDY YANG, DECKERS BRANDS

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L E A D E R S H I P I N S I G H T S

Brooks CEO Jim Weber sits atop one of the

fastest-growing footwear brands in the U.S.

But the journey to get there was anything

but linear.

Upon joining Brooks in 2001, Weber oversaw

a vast turnaround plan for the company that

had previously been on the brink of bankruptcy.

His strategy called for refocusing strictly on the

performance running category, guided by its

upbeat “Run Happy” messaging. It made steady

gains and, after a series of acquisitions, Brooks

became an independent subsidiary of Warren

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway organization in

2011. Over the next several years, it developed a

large and growing fan base.

Then came the pandemic, when the brand

experienced a surge in demand during a global

running boom.

In the last year, Brooks has consistently

grabbed market share from industry leaders

like Nike and Adidas in the crucial category of

women’s performance. The Brooks Adrenaline

GTS 21, which retails for $130, ranked 8th on

The NPD Group’s list of the top 10 best-selling

sneakers in 2021 according to dollar rank. And

in Q3, revenue for Brooks grew 24% year-over-

year, with gains led by the Adrenaline GTS,

Ghost and Glycerin franchises, which were up

50% versus 2020.

In his upcoming book, “Running With

Purpose,” which releases this spring, Weber

refl ects on his career path, from his early

dreams of becoming a professional athlete

to being named the CEO of a major running

brand. He also delves into the lessons Brooks

has learned over the past two years.

“We’re all outcomes of our journey and

experiences in our lives,” Weber told FN. “It’s

true with companies too.”

Weber spoke with FN exclusively about six

leadership principles included in his book and

how he applies those to Brooks to keep the

company competitive and authentic.

1. OWN A NICHE“This really relates to two key elements: focus

and choosing your customer. For every brand

in business, the biggest decision they make is

which customer they choose to focus on. And

at Brooks, we [targeted] runners 20-something

years ago. We can compete because of our focus

on a customer and a niche and trying to be

the best in this one niche that we’re in. And

that just gives us a shot at being

credible and creating affi nity

with the customer. I think for

most businesses, unless you’re

a platform company, you’re a

niche player. If you’re not the

No. 1 brand, you’re probably

a niche player and it’s best to

characterize your strategy in that

way. I’m a fi rm believer in that.”

2. BUILD A MOAT“We’re part of Berkshire

Hathaway, and Warren Buffett

Jim Weber discovered running after his college hockey career ended

Coaching SessionAhead of the release of his new book, Jim Weber shares the leaderships lessons that pushed Brooks to the head of the pack. BY SHOSHY CIMENT

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has often talked about a company’s — or brand’s

— moat. It’s all those things that are your

strengths, your distinctiveness and what allows

you to sustain your health and success as a

company. What’s interesting about a brand is, it’s

not an inanimate thing. It’s not an asset on your

balance sheet. It’s in the mind of your customer.

So it’s really about creating a distinctive,

defendable moat. It’s such a failed road to be on

to just emulate your competition because you’re

probably never going to be as innovative or up

to speed if you’re just following them. You have

to know all the choices your customer has and

create a distinctive, defendable position that you

can sustain over time.”

3. SOLVE FOR PROFITABILITY“When you have investors, which everybody

does — unless you own it yourself and I

don’t own Brooks — you have to solve for

[profi tability] to keep them with you and be

able to play another day. We’re seeing in our

broader industry that, ultimately, profi tability

is typically expected. You have to engineer it

into your business model. We had to do this

at Brooks to survive. And if you’re successful

at it, there’s this return on investment

fl ywheel that lets you invest more in growth

against the customer. It’s a critical piece to

know as you’re building out your brand. And

for us, we want to be a profi table business

because then our owner is going to want to

invest more in it.”

4. VISION WITHOUT EXECUTION IS HALLUCINATION“In around 2008-2009, it became clear to

me that to grow and scale, it was all about

people. It was all about execution. You might

have the best strategy, you might have an

exciting brand, you may even have a fantastic

product, but you’ve got to execute across your

entire business. Globally, we’re sort of a niche,

smaller player. So if we’re going to execute this

brand all around the world through partners

and then have a compelling story in front

of every runner, whether they’re in Milan or

Des Moines or Sydney, it’s all about people to

execute that all the way through. We’ve created

a collaborative team-based approach at Brooks.

And we try to engage everyone on our team.

Business is a team sport.”

5. LEAD AUTHENTICALLY“I want to be part of something I’m proud of. I

want to be part of something that has a future,

that’s going to an exciting place. We’re trying

to lead our teams against an opportunity to do

something great for runners and that’s going

to create opportunity for them in their careers

to do good, meaningful work. We’ve invested a

lot in training at Brooks in the last fi ve or six

years. It’s something we think is foundational

to our brand. We’re positioned as a running

brand, and to earn a sense of authenticity from

the customer, you have to be authentic inside.

Customers are smart today. They really are

doing their homework. If your company is all

about making money, they’re going to fi gure

that out over time. So leading authentically is a

challenge that we’re giving to ourselves across

the leadership team.”

6. THE ULTIMATE ADVANTAGE IS A STRONG CULTURE“We’re competing with culture today. We

have this ‘Charting Brooks’ Future’ three-year

strategy playbook. It’s very detailed and every

department in our company syncs in with that

roadmap. But you can only do that if you have

a strong culture underneath it. Every part of

our business, to execute well, is going to be

driven by people. So we’re working hard on

our culture and the ultimate test is how it is

going to attract and retain the talent we need

to execute well in this industry. Right now, I

feel very good about that. Again, we don’t take

that for granted either. Customers have choices,

employees have choices, now more than ever

today. But I think we’ve got a strong culture

and we’re going to work hard to continue to

keep it strong to attract great people to the

Brooks brand.”

“CUSTOMERS ARE SMART TODAY. THEY REALLY ARE DOING THEIR HOMEWORK. IF YOUR COMPANY IS ALL ABOUT MAKING MONEY, THEY’RE GOING TO FIGURE THAT OUT OVER TIME.”— JIM WEBER

THE ROAD TO BREAKING A BILLIONBY SHOSHY CIMENT

Brooks has o� cially entered the billion-dollar brand club.

The running company scored new sales records in 2021 and ended the year with global revenue in excess of $1.11 billion, marking a 31% percent increase from 2020. In North America, revenue was $889.1 million, representing a 33% growth from 2020. The company’s e-commerce channels in North America grew 149% compared with 2019.

“It’s not an accident,” Brooks CEO Jim Weber told FN in an interview. Since the brand narrowed its focus to perfomance running in 2017, global revenue has doubled.

So when the pandemic hit, Brooks was in a prime spot to reap the rewards of a nationwide running boom, which has also galvanized other running-focused brands like Saucony and Hoka One One.

“We were perfectly positioned,” Weber said.In the last year, Brooks has become a standout

for women’s performance sneakers, stealing market share from leaders like Nike and Adidas. Its Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21 has been a particularly strong performer. Weber attributed the success in women’s running to o� ering consumers an “approachable” and “inclusive” brand.

“We’ve had an open tent in terms of welcoming everyone into run and welcoming everyone into our brand,” Weber said.

The strategy appears to have paid o� in unit sales. Brooks sold 25% more pairs of shoes globally in 2021 compared to 2020. Weber relies on an omnichannel strategy that doesn’t only focus on direct-to-consumer sales to reach new consumers.

About 40% of Brooks’ 2021 sales occurred online, evenly divided between third-party retail sites and the company’s own website. The rest, about 60%, was done through retail stores. Brooks currently operates two brand-owned stores in the U.S., a fl agship retail store near its Seattle headquarters and another outlet store.

While Weber pointed to the importance of having physical stores, he said there is currently no plan to open more brand-owned locations in the U.S. Right now, he added, it’s more sustainable for Brooks to find consumers by selling product at different footwear, running and sporting goods stores.

“You can’t build enough stores in every running community,” Weber said. “So we think multichannel is critical if you want to reach runners, and we’re just trying to execute that as well as we can.”

Like other footwear brands, Brooks was impacted by supply chain slowdowns and factory shutdowns in China and Vietnam last year. Still, the company managed to deliver record results, reworking the business to ensure that product made it to the consumer.

“We’ve been working really hard on adding capacity and diversifying our factory base across countries and partners,” Weber said. “Because of that work over the last two years, I think we’re going to weather this storm really well.”

Last month, Brooks promoted longtime executive Dan Sheridan to president. In that new role, he will guide the company’s supply chain and operations, as well as oversee IT and digital products.

Weber competes at a Brooks employee event

Match PointGiven the “pandemic-friendly” nature of tennis, the market has seen an explosion in consumer participation and rising talent.BY STEPHEN GARNER

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M A R K E T W A T C H

It’s no secret, the pandemic has changed

a lot about our world. And the tennis market

is no exception.

For some consumers, COVID-induced quar-

antines and gym closures forced them to fi nd

new ways of working out. With outdoor sports

deemed more “pandemic friendly,” tennis saw

a surge of new and returning players getting

into the sport, as courts have become socially

distanced havens for boutique-fi tness refugees

and those driven stir-crazy by isolation.

According to Tom Cove, president and CEO

of the Sports & Fitness Industry Association,

2020 and 2021 were the best for tennis in over

25 years, in terms of both participation and

product sales. In a recent report, SFIA said ten-

nis participation was up 27.9% over the last two

years, with 22.6 million Americans reporting

they played at least once in 2021, up from 17.7

million in 2019 and up 4.5% from 2020, which

saw 21.6 million Americans playing the sport.

Mark Mason, the owner of Mason’s Tennis in

Midtown Manhattan said that the demand for

tennis shoes is “through the roof” because so

many new people are now in the market for gear.

“We have players who haven’t played in 10 years,

that are coming back to us for guidance on what

to wear on the court. It’s exciting,” Mason said.

At Grand Central Racquet, also in Midtown

Manhattan, co-owner Woody Schneider told

FN that 2021 was the best year his business has

ever had — and the momentum has continued,

as February 2022 was his best February on

record. Schneider said, “I’ve never had so many

people tell me they haven’t played tennis in

10 years and want to get back into the game

or that they’ve always wanted to play and are

ready to start. I must have heard these two

statements 10,000 times over the last year.”

While Grand Central Racquet doesn’t

carry the big major labels like Adidas and Nike,

Schneider said he has found success in niche

brands like Mizuno. The brand’s Wave Rider

18 style is one of his top sellers, along with

Prince’s long running P22 sneaker. “The com-

panies that I like to sell are also companies that

are racket companies,” Schneider said. “I want

to support the brands that keep me in business

across all categories.”

Mason noted that Asics is the top-perform-

ing tennis shoe brand at his store, despite the

brand being affected by the factory shutdowns

in southern Vietnam. He specifi cally called out

Asics’ Solution Speed FF and Gel Resolution 8

as standout styles. And he gave an honorable

mention to the Nike Vapor Pro as another top-

selling tennis styles.

Those results match the data from The NPD

Group. Senior sports industry adviser Matt Pow-

ell said that in terms of the top brands in the

space, Adidas still captures the largest market

share in the footwear made for tennis category.

Asics comes in second, followed by Nike, New

Balance and K-Swiss.

As for specifi c top-selling performance tennis

styles, Powell cited the Adidas GameCourt shoe

as No. 1 in 2021, followed by the Nike Court

Lite 2. Asics’ Gel Dedicate 6 and Gel Resolution

8 took third and fourth place last year, with

Nike’s Air Max Volley rounding out the top fi ve,

according to NPD.

But given the meteoric rise for the category,

many experts believe tennis may have hit a peak

in terms of popularity. “Looking at the history

of tennis, participation boomed in the 1980s

and ‘90s,” SFIA’s Cove told FN. “But since the

start of the 2000s, the sport has struggled to re-

port high growth rates. This makes the growth

rate tennis has seen over the last two years

even more phenomenal. It is inconceivable the

industry could continue that momentum; it just

wouldn’t make sense. I would say the growth

rate may fl atten in 2022 as more people return

to their normal pre-COVID schedules and we

learn to live with this virus.”

Emma Raducanu during the women’s singles fi nal of the 2021 US Open

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Nevertheless, top brands in the fi eld are forg-

ing ahead with new tennis capsule collections,

marketing initiatives and player endorsements

in hopes of keeping the momentum going.

At Adidas, which has a long history in

the sport, the brand is modernizing its

approach by incorporating its three-loop

sustainability strategy into tennis product.

“By 2024, our aim is to replace virgin

polyester with recycled polyester wherever

possible,” Annette Steingass, senior director

of tennis and court sports at Adidas, told FN.

“We constantly rethink our materials as we

create our seasonal collections. For example,

our most recent Australian Open apparel

range was made with Parley Ocean plastic. In

addition, the dress that Garbine Muguruza

wore at the tournament, and the tee worn by

Stefanos Tsitsipas were [from our] ‘Made to

be Remade’ [upcycled collection].”

For Fila, the athletic brand has sought the

help of designer Christopher Bevans to ramp

up its tennis offering. Earlier this month,

Fila introduced the Bevans Park Collection, a

42-piece line fi lled with a variety of looks for

men and women. The collection was unveiled

at this year’s Fila-sponsored BNP Paribas

Open in Indian Wells, Calif., where the brand’s

sponsored athletes wore the collection on-court.

At Asics, the footwear brand has doubled

down on its focus in tennis through its “Cat-

egory Offense” initiative. Kevin Powers, category

director of core performance sports at Asics,

said, “We have a specifi c group of employees

focused on tennis within design, development,

product, sales and marketing functions globally

and regionally.”

Most recently, Asics has been developing

shoes specifi cally targeted to different playing

styles, from aggressive baseline to all-court play.

Powers said this is a key story for the brand

when it goes to market with new product and

has shaped how it communicates to consumers.

Asics is also investing in new talent in the

sport, most recently signing Matteo Berrettini

in January. According to Powers, Berrettini is

already ranked No. 6 in the world with his semi-

fi nal showing at the Australian Open and will

continue to wear its Gel Resolution 8 sneaker.

Other new players like Berrettini are also

creating excitement around the sport, especially

in the men’s fi eld, which has been dominated by

the big three (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer

and Rafael Nadal) for almost 20 years.

Britain’s Cameron Norrie and American

Sebastian Korda were named as two players

to watch. The two athletes sparred last month

during the Delray Beach Open. Though Korda

was a fi nalist in the tournament last year, he

was defeated by Norrie, who went on to win the

tournament on Feb. 21.

On the women’s side, Montreal-born Leylah

Fernandez, who recently signed with Lululemon

in January as a face of the brand’s formal push

into tennis, is creating big buzz. The 19-year-old

had a breakout year in 2021, as the runner-up in

the U.S. Open — a feat that put her at No. 24 in

the world. British player Emma Raducanu, who

beat Fernandez at the U.S. Open and is ranked

No. 13 on the WTA Tour, is another star on the

rise. Her U.S. Open win was the second Grand

Slam tournament of her career. The 19-year-

old now holds the record for the fewest majors

played before winning a title.

But at Mason’s Tennis in New York, the ten-

nis superstars — Djokovic, Federer and Nadal,

who have respective shoe deals with Asics, On

and Nike — are still the ones who drives sales in

his store, despite the fact that they are playing

fewer tournaments than in previous years.

“The shoes sell on their own merits,” Mason

said. “The shoes don’t sell based on who’s wear-

ing what, right? But right now, it really boils

down to who can get their shoes to market

given all the supply chain issues.”

Sebastian Korda (at left) shakes hands with Cameron Norrie at the 2022 Delray Beach Open

Top-ranked tennis star Ash Barty in the Fila x Bevans Park Collection

AT MASON’S TENNIS IN MANHATTAN, ASICS IS THE TOP-PERFORMING TENNIS SHOE BRAND.

Asics’ Gel-Resolution

8 sneaker

C N C P T S . C O M

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REAL

TALK

WHAT HAPPENED

WHEN A STYLE-SAVVY

RAPPER SAT DOWN

WITH AN INFLUENTIAL

STREETWEAR RETAILER?

AS CONCEPTS MARKS

25 YEARS, FABOLOUS

TALKS WITH TAREK

HASSAN ABOUT HUMBLE

BEGINNINGS, BIG TIPPING

POINTS AND AMBITIOUS

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.

BY PETER VERRY

22

FN MILESTONE CONCEPTS@25

way to understand everyone who

works with us. The person doing

stock, I know exactly what he’s

doing and what he’s going through,

and [the same] if you’re a buyer or

in marketing.

FAB: Talk about the transition

from The Tannery to Concepts in ’96.

TAREK: I started in the brown

shoe business. The Tannery was

mainly a comfort and outdoor store.

But my passion was snowboarding

and skateboarding, and the other

thing I loved was fashion. I wanted

to bring that passion to my work.

With Concepts, I wanted to open a

snowboard and skateboard shop,

and I knew for a lot people it would

make no sense to have that inside a

shoe store. I came up with a vision

for Concepts and went from there.

FAB: You built this store and

created this gumbo of three di  erent

worlds. Where did your vision of the

marriage of sneakers and streetwear

and high-end fashion come from?

TAREK: My passion is what got

me to do all of this. It was unique

and di  erent back in the day. Not

many understood it. You would

walk into Concepts and see Gucci

footwear next to skateboards, which

back then was [di  erent].

FAB: Sometimes that person

who snowboards likes Gucci too,

and he likes Nike when he goes

skateboarding. You made it a one-

stop shop.

TAREK: [For example], we were

trying to get opened up with Burton

Snowboards. They came to visit

the store when Concepts was in

the back of The Tannery and you

had to go through 20 tables of

comfort shoes before you got to the

snowboards, which was unusual.

There weren’t many brands that

believed in us. They thought, “How

could you buy a snowboard inside of

a shoe store that sells handbags and

comfort shoes?” I will never forget

the comments I would hear. “How

are you going to be able to get kids

to go to the back of the store?”

FAB: Di  erent usually isn’t

accepted right away. Di  erent has to

be proven. Later on, it’s appreciated.

From that, how has Concepts, which

started in 1996 and now it’s 2022,

evolved over the years?

TAREK: We went from

underground in the back of a shoe

store to being on one of the most

important streets in Boston in

Newbury Street. Back then, our

store was 500 square feet. Our store

now is 4,500 square feet in Boston

and 2,500 square feet here [in

New York].

FAB: When you arrived, it was

probably like pulling teeth trying to

get products in your shop. But now,

you get to be selective.

TAREK: Like anything else, you

struggle in the beginning. Brands

want you to be proven, they want to

see your actions and what you can

do di  erently. We’re in a good place

now, we have great relationships

with great brands and we work

closely with a lot of brands like New

Balance and Nike, who are great

partners for us. We’ve paid our dues.

FAB: Why would you say you’ve

been able to have staying power?

There are a lot of shops that come

and go.

TAREK: It’s a few things, but No. 1

is passion. If you’re passionate about

what you do, that on its own will

keep you standing.

FAB: Passion is also one of those

things that will keep you from

giving up.

TAREK: And I’ve surrounded

myself with talented people. Deon

Point has been a part of Concepts

for the last 15 or so years and is

still passionate. And the young

generation that has joined Concepts

— as part of the hiring process,

the fi rst thing I look for is passion.

When you fi nd it in that person, you

can teach everything else.

FAB: A passionate person is also

eager to learn.

From left: Tarek Hassan and Fabolous, photographed

for FN at the Concepts NYC store this month

AS CAR HORNS and sirens blare on

a cold spring morning in New York,

Concepts owner Tarek Hassan and

rapper Fabolous talk quietly about

life and work while standing in the

doorway of the Manhattan fl agship,

dressed almost entirely in the

retailer’s private-label collection.

Though the two men have met

before, this is their fi rst opportunity

for a lengthy one-on-one.

On the surface, Hassan and

Fabolous couldn’t be more di  erent.

One is a Boston transplant by way

of Lebanon, who helped shape

streetwear retail after years in the

brown shoe world. The other is a

rap superstar born and raised in

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Despite making a name for

themselves in distinct worlds, the

two have much in common.

For starters, both Hassan and

Fabolous are widely respected in

their fi elds and have maintained

positions atop their ultracompetitive

professions for decades. And both

have made a signifi cant impact in

the fashion space.

With Concepts celebrating

25 years, the rapper joined the

retail leader to discuss Hassan’s

decades of success and what the

future holds.

Below is the candid discussion

between these two powerhouses,

edited for clarity.

FABOLOUS: I want to talk about

your history in retail and coming

up in Boston. How did this whole

thing start?

TAREK HASSAN: I left Lebanon

in the mid-’80s when I was 16

years old, not because I wanted

to but because there was a civil

war going on. My parents wanted

to send me somewhere safe and I

had an uncle, [Sam Hassan], who

lived in Boston, so I went there.

He owned a shoe store called The

Tannery in Harvard Square and I

started working there. My fi rst job

was street marketing, passing out

fl yers on the sidewalk. From there, I

worked in the stockroom and then

stepped up into sales on the fl oor,

then became the manager and then

buyer. I went through every aspect

of the business.

FAB: From the basement to the

penthouse.

TAREK: I loved every experience.

FAB: Would you say that helped

shape who you are as an owner,

knowing every level of the business?

TAREK: Absolutely. It’s a great

IF YOU’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT YOU DO, THAT ON ITS OWN WILL KEEP YOU STANDING.— TAREK HASSAN

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Fabolous (L) and Tarek Hassan in the Concepts x Nike Air Max 1 SP “Heavy” and “Mellow,” respectively

FN MILESTONE CONCEPTS@25

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TAREK: And this is how you

discover talents, too. We love to

promote within the company.

FAB: How do you avoid burnout?

TAREK: It’s tough, but I’m

getting better at it. Working out,

running in the morning. We just

got a new dog — that forces me to

get up in the morning. Anything

to get me outdoors, that’s where I

can relax.

FAB: What do you do here that

separates you from other shops?

TAREK: Quite a few things.

Experience, that’s key for us.

Concepts is known for storytelling,

we feel like we own that. We

take pride in our collabs and

projects with partners, and the

deep relationships we have with

brands. We’re able to leverage those

relationships.

FAB: Twenty-fi ve years, that’s a

long relationship.

TAREK: The other thing we’re

very proud of — and is massive for

us right now with big potential —

is private label. That’s a big part

of what di� erentiates us from the

competition.

FAB: What’s di� erent in the

footwear industry from 1996

to now?

TAREK: There’s big positive

change in the last 25 years. Today,

everyone cares about community.

We’re paying attention and we care

about climate and sustainability.

Back in the day, these things didn’t

really matter. That on its own is

amazing.

FAB: How have you been able to

discover young talent and surround

yourself with younger people to

keep the brand going?

TAREK: I use my instincts,

and we’re on the ground all the

time, always in front of people

and surrounded by the industry. I

like to discover talent within the

organization as well. Some of the

team has started as salespeople and

now they’re leading the brand.

FAB: When I walked in, you

asked how I was and the fi rst thing

I said was trying to balance family

and work. So now I’m going to ask

you, having a 25-plus-year business,

how do you balance the two?

TAREK: It’s tough.

FAB: There’s no recipe.

TAREK: It’s a work in progress.

I’m lucky to have an understanding

wife and an amazing family. But I’d

be lying if I said I had it fi gured out.

The older I get, it’s defi nitely getting

better.

FAB: You spoke on private label

earlier. What role will Concepts’

private label play in the company’s

future?

TAREK: It’s a massive

opportunity. We’re going to

continue to build on it and scale

it, not only on the apparel side

but [to make it] more of a lifestyle

[brand]. Every collab we do with

our partners, we build a collection

around the storytelling and the

vision of what that is. A great

collection was built around the

Nike Air Max [collab this month],

it’s one of my favorite projects for

the year. Private label will be our

biggest focus moving forward.

FAB: What are some of Concepts’

THE SHOE GAME

biggest goals of 2022?

TAREK: [Aside from] becoming

a lifestyle brand, the other is to

grow brick-and-mortar. We’re

excited about what’s going on in the

metaverse and with NFTs — it’s a big

world for us and we’re putting a lot

of energy there. And we’ll continue

to build on our relationships with

collabs and projects, and keep

pushing ourselves.

FAB: I’m interested to see how

cryptocurrency and NFTs a� ect

retail.

TAREK: We will defi nitely be

a part of that, there’s a lot of

excitement and we’re still learning

about it.

FAB: You have locations here in

New York, Boston, Dubai, Shanghai

and Beijing. Are there any more

coming in the future? You have to

share that with the world.

TAREK: There’s defi nitely a plan

for Concepts to be in other states

and countries. Right now, we’re

putting much of our focus on New

York because this is fairly new — it’s

less than a year-and-a-half old —

and Boston as well.

FAB: Personally, I’m glad y’all

came to New York. Any brand

that’s been around 25 years needs

its fl owers, so I want to give you

your fl owers for creating a brand

that represents you and speaks

to other people as well. It’s an

amazing feat.

FABOLOUS’ FOOTWEAR COLLECTION LIVES UP TO HIS NAME.By Peter Verry

SHOES I WORE IN HIGH SCHOOL:“I went to high school in the ’90s, so I wore everything from Nike to Jordan to Reebok to Adidas — a wide range of shoes. Filas. I wore everything. New Balance.”

HOW MANY PAIRS I OWN:“I have no idea. I have so many shoes. I lost count a long time ago and I’m not even trying to go through the process of counting.”

WORN THE LONGEST:“I have an original pair of Air Jordan 7s that now the sole is falling apart. That might be my longest-running shoe, the ‘Bordeaux.’”

WHAT I TRAVEL IN:“It changes per outfi t, but my travel shoe is mostly a comfortable shoe. I like Yeezys to travel in, New Balance. I also like some cool Sacai x Nike.”

MY SHOE CLOSET:“I have them in multiple places, so my shoe closet is wherever I fi nd room.”

THE SHOES I DREAM ABOUT:“The Air Yeezy. I had all three colorways and I got some kind of scu� that messed up my black pair and I got rid of them. In hindsight, I’m like, why did I do that? I could have got them fi xed or cleaned — especially in these times. At that time, there were not as many cleaning places, but looking back, I’m like, I cannot believe I threw those shoes away.”

IT’S BEEN 25 YEARS since Tarek

Hassan opened his fi rst Concepts

store in Cambridge, Mass., and while

many retailers have shifted focus to

digital, he is still dedicated to brick-

and-mortar.

With locations in Boston, New

York, Shanghai and Dubai, Hassan

said 2022 is about continuing to

invest in the physical experience.

Given recent challenges of COVID-19

and store shutdowns, this year,

the founder and CEO is looking to

reinvigorate Concepts’ activations,

such as enlivening the cafe

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FROM BOSTON TO

DUBAI, THE CONCEPTS

RETAIL BANNER IS

MAKING ITS MARK

AROUND THE GLOBE.

BY NIKARA JOHNS

AREA

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S

The Concepts door in New York City spans

2,500 square feet

Founder and CEOTarek Hassan

FN MILESTONE CONCEPTS@25 27

experience on Newbury Street in

Boston, and deliver more community

tie-in projects.

“We were born [as brick-and-

mortar], and that’s where our focus

is right now,” Hassan said. “We’ve

invested [in physical], especially in

2020, so now we’re seeing the fruits

of our labor there and we’re focusing

on those locations.”

In Boston, with the fl agship

store that opened in October 2020,

Concepts continues to push its

boundaries. The fl agship location

contains a bigger mix of luxury in

a space for more female-focused

brands and wider installments of

accessories, explained Hassan. It’s

also the location of Vrsnl, a women’s-

focused luxury boutique.

Dan Leonardi, VP of sales at

Sperry, explained the store’s draw:

“Concepts stands out to me as an

elevated retail experience that

perfectly blends the worlds of luxury

fashion and streetwear/skate culture.”

He continued, “To me, they are

the epitome of a concept store that

started many years ago in some

European and Asian cities. If you’ve

been to their Newbury Street store,

then you know that these guys are

doing it as well or better than anyone

in the U.S.”

Meanwhile, in Shanghai, Concepts

is catering to a more fashion-driven

consumer. And its New York location,

which opened in December 2020,

Hassan likens it to that Cambridge

store, given the college crowd near

its 99 University Place location.

Although Hassan wouldn’t

disclose the site of his next Concepts

door, the storeowner said he expects

to open two more in the U.S. and one

abroad by the end of 2023.

He noted what will remain

consistent through all outposts are

key brands and Concepts’ private

label, which is merchandised for

each respective market.

“Our private label continues to be

our No. 1 priority — our No. 1 success

— especially within this last year.

For us as a brand, [private label]

ultimately [gives us] the control

to dictate what we’re making, how

we’re making it and fi nding who that

consumer is,” said Annie Morgan,

brand manager at Concepts.

Hassan added that the private-

label business, which now consists

of apparel, will expand into a full

contemporary lifestyle brand. “That

means increasing accessibility by

investing in adaptive o� erings, and

it can also mean exploring NFTs as

well,” Hassan said. “We want the

private label to become a signifi cant

percentage of our business and a key

brand that is trusted by and always

serves our evolving consumer.”

While Concepts is proud of its

impressive retail experience, part

of that includes an e-commerce

component. Last year, for instance,

the company launched a mobile

app to give consumers access to

exclusive products and early access

to upcoming launches, as well as

o� ering its diverse catalog of men’s

and women’s footwear and apparel.

“Our brand has always had an

international audience, but we

have never been able to engage that

community until now. E-commerce

unlocks that customer for us and we

continue to grow our e-commerce

sales. Our website is evolving, as is

our approach to storytelling across

di� erent channels like Instagram,

Twitter, Facebook and TikTok,”

Hassan said.

Part of Concepts’ 25-year

success also comes from its close

relationships with brands such as

Adidas, Canada Goose, Nike and

New Balance (Hassan’s fi rst sneaker

collaboration partner). “What keeps

me going,” said Hassan, “is that we

still are able to bring freshness, new

ideas and storytelling to the brands.”

Concepts is continuing that trend

this year and will be teaming up with

a range of sneaker brands, including

K-Swiss, Nike, New Balance, Vans

and Converse.

K-Swiss international brand

president Dave Grange said,

“Anytime we can partner with

Concepts, it’s a privilege. They add

credibility, energy and a consumer

reach that’s hard to obtain naturally.

They have been doing this for 25

years and remain at the top of

the game. Their history, heritage,

knowledge and experience are

unrivaled globally.”

What’s more, Concepts will

partner with brands outside the

sneaker space that have been

instrumental to its success, including

Sperry, Mephisto, Birkenstock and

Sorel. It also will deliver its fi rst-ever

collaboration with Ecco.

“We’ve done collaborations with

them in the past, but that was years

ago. We wanted to work with them

again to celebrate the history,”

Hassan said. “These are the brands

that were a big part of the beginning

days of Concepts. These are my

roots, going way back into the

brown shoe world.”

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PRIVATE LABEL IS CONCEPTS’ NO. 1 PRIORITY. HERE’S HOW IT FITS INTO THE BUSINESS.

Although a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, Annie Morgan is responsible for leading Concepts’ private label push. Here, the brand manager explains how its private brand strategy has evolved over her fi ve years and what the ultimate goals are for the collections.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE CONCEPTS PRIVATE LABEL EVOLUTION?“We've always dabbled in it. There have been some great sprints, but now we have our vision solidifi ed of who we are, what we want to stand for and the risks we want to take. Storytelling is the Concepts DNA, but stories change, the focus of our consumers change, so we're telling those stories and making it exciting.

Our consumer expects the unexpected from us, so it's constantly fi nding out what's the next unexpected thing.”

WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO BUILDING THESE COLLECTIONS?“We have ties to luxury, as well as extreme sports and Boston heritage. And we have brick-and-mortar and digital to think about, and how to touch as many people as possible through product. I look at those things and then wrap it all into one thing.”

WHAT ARE THE PRIVATE LABEL GOALS?“Short-term is to keep expanding the products and make sure they stay inclusive, but special at the same time. We want to create products that people seek out and can’t fi nd anywhere else. Long-term, it’s to have a variety of touchpoints, whether it be women's, men's, kids’, accessories. To become a lifestyle brand, that's the ultimate goal.” — Peter Verry

BUILD FOR THE FUTURE

Annie Morgan

Untitled-11 2 3/8/22 9:54 AM

Untitled-11 3 3/8/22 9:56 AM

ForgetmenotCorner of Division and Canal Streets

Hungry Ghost

Corner of Church and Reade Streets

Nike LabMercer St.

Between Canal and Grand Streets

Dudley’sCorner of Orchard

and Broome Streets Regina’sOrchard St. between

Canal and Hester Streets

Sweet ChickCorner of Division and Canal Streets

Vig BarCorner of

Elizabeth and Spring Streets

Cafe MogadorSt. Marks Place

Mamoun’s2nd Ave and St.

Marks Place

ConceptsCorner of University

and 12th Streets

From its inception in 2006, Concepts has been known for an unparalleled brand mix – and the relationships it

has with those brands. The company brings its customers experiences that represent a contemporary luxury and embraces the most exciting elements of contemporary lifestyle. There is no hierarchy of aesthetic or interest in the Concepts brand, to hear Tarket Hassan, owner and founder of Concepts, describe it.

“Concepts has always had a broad perspective,” said Hassan. “We were watching the snowboard boom of the ‘90s, but also seeing sneaker culture root globally. We understood the mix of extreme sports, skate and sneaker culture immediately. We also knew that there was an inherent luxury to it all – something that gave us permission to stretch the boundaries of accessories and, as we’ve grown, our brand mix.”

It seems only fitting then that the New England company would have such a strong connection to New York City, which thrives on blending cultures and setting trends.

“New York moves fast. It creates trends; it supercharges trends,” said Annie Morgan, who oversees the Concepts Brand and label. “New Yorkers are attuned to shifts. The city has an incredible sense of heritage — its shoppers innately understand classic style. Understanding this and having willingness to embrace the avant garde, makes the scene very exciting.”

Setting itself apart, Concepts has always worked to create a “full package experience.” Packaging to the team behind Concepts goes beyond a sneaker box to how they show up in their retail stores or at a launch. Put simply, the

Concepts team wants to create a memory for the consumer.

And these interactions have become part of the conversation, Deon Point, Creative Director for Concepts told Footwear News. “There’s nothing better than hearing from our consumers that they remember coming to us for a specific launch. When we make a shared moment, there is a nostalgia attached to both the experience and the product. Concepts is dedicated to landing that mix.”

“We understood coming into NYC that there was competition,” said Morgan “We also knew there was space for authentic connections to be made. That is our specialty. We want to have a conversation. We want to educated people about what we bring into our stores. We love being storytellers. The ways we do this go back to looking at the behaviors not only of customers, but by looking at contemporary lifestyle culture. Merging that — how people learn, live, and shop — is how we find success.”

When the company opened its first NYC location it was after years of planning, waiting for the correct time and the correct space, Hassan told WWD.

“The Tribeca store was originally designed as a showcase for our collaborations,” said Point. “We opened it as a gallery, something that could change with each product and tell a deeper story. The experiential nature of the space definitely helped us gain a footprint in NYC.”

From opening in New York City with New Balance as its partner to its current location at 99 University Place, Hassan said collaborations have been integral to deepening the brand’s relationship with consumers.

“Our Union Square store reflects our heritage,” said Hassan. “Skate-focused and university

adjacent. We understand the high/low dynamism of streetwear. And New York expects that knowledge, but also embraces evolution. Giving space to our private label in the store, for example, was a perfect way to share our growth and secure our story over 25 years.”

Notably, longtime friend of the company, skateboarder and NYC-native, Vinny Ponte, was influential in the Concepts’ introduction to the New York Skate scene is where the team first got its footing.

“The people who come to Concepts expect a story,” said Point “They are invested in the experiences. We’re lucky to work with great brands. Thinking about Nike, we’ve been able to do things with Nike SB, like the Holy Grail project, and with Nike basketball. The diversity of those projects speaks to our interests, but also matches the holistic interests of our fans. They are not one dimensional,

and Concepts collaborations allow us to really underscore that.”

In fact, after working in partnership with Nike for decades now, Concepts will be furthering its presence in New York City in its latest collaboration with the brand as it will be expanding the experience of the Air Max 1 launch partnering with NikeLab at 21 Mercer and SNKRS pass.

For Concepts, the collaboration represents another opportunity to share its vision in difference spaces. And with 21 Mercer being a sort of hallmark of New York City for global sneaker culture, it’s also a chance to bring the brands unique style for ideas and storytelling to the forefront.

“Over the years, we’ve been progressing our partnership with Nike,” said Hassan. “What was first delivered through Concepts is now delivered across multiple platforms. We share belief in the power of a physical experience. Similarly, we are able to push best-in-class digital experiences together.”

Always looking to evolve and progress in partnerships, Morgan said with Nike it’s a shared mantra of ‘no finish line’ that will “mix our mutual excitement for storytelling and reflect on the unique energy of the city.”

Beyond bringing New Yorkers an experimental experience, a fun aspect of the partnership, Deon Point said, will be the element of surprise since Concepts always strives to push boundaries.

Inspired by the “revolution” that took place when Nike first released the Nike Air Max 1 in 1987,consumers visiting the NYC NikeLab can expect Concepts to bring the “energy of that time” and its out-of-the-box perspective to blend heritage with a consumer experience that “totally bends the mind.”

Since opening doors on Hudson Street in 2014,Concepts has been making its mark on New York.

Concepts’ New York

Warwick Hotel

ForgetmenotA favorite for New Yorkers for being fun and homey, the bar’s eclectic surf-shack décor and funky furniture make visitors feel as though this bar has been around forever. Not to be missed is the golden skateboard that hangs on the wall. (The friendly co-owner Adam Himebauch has been rumored to deliver the kitchen’s Mediterranean food through the lower east side on skateboard.) Visitors can be sure to have a good time.

Dudley’sPerfect for a low-key dining experience, Dudley’s was designed to share the quintessential Australian corner pub-and-bistro with its guests. It’s a place to meet for drinks or share a casual meal with friends on a busy Saturday night and on a quite Tuesday. New Yorkers can enjoy the inviting menu that has something for everyone (from light bites and sandwiches to � lling entrees) with an indoor or outdoor experience.

Mamoun’s FalafelMamoun’s staked its claim as the � rst falafel restaurant in New York in 1971 as well as becoming one of the � rst Middle Eastern establishments in the United States. Still family-owned and operated, the restaurant has stayed true to a philosophy of serving fresh, authentic Middle Eastern cuisine in a fast, casual environment – everything is made from scratch and the � nest imported spices add a special touch to each dish. New Yorkers come to enjoy the restaurant’s rich tradition and the best falafel around. Mogador is a favorite for brunch among the cool-kids, so visitors hoping to try the Middle Eastern breakfast should plan to get there early.

Hungry Ghost Coff eeCreated by Turkish immigrant, Murat Uyaroglu, since 2012, Hungry Ghost Coffee has welcomed New Yorkers with a sense of community that is joyful, focused and proud. The quirky yet charming coffee shop offers satisfying Stumptown coffee and lattes as well as teas and kombucha, but a must have on the menu are the amazing pastries.

The Vig BarThis cozy bar is exactly what you’re looking for in Nolita with its intimate atmosphere, low-key elegance and great music. Ideal for a small group of friends for a late-afternoon drink or happy hour with co-workers as the bar prides itself for a long list of cocktails that are both classic and creative.

Regina’s GroceryBorn in Brooklyn, this Italian sandwich bar is family owned and operated. Designed to bring New Yorkers a bit of “Old New York” experience, the owners strive to bring a part of their family’s history to the menu with each sandwich named for a member of the family they want you to know. True to the family recipe, nothing is processed and each sandwich is made with what the call “the best” from Sullivan Street Bakery and mozzarella from Loni’s to imported essentials from Italy.

Sweet ChickCreated by John Seymour and backed by Nas, Sweet Chick serves Southern love the Brooklyn way. Since 2013, the Sweet Chick team has followed a philosophy to “have fun, eat well and spread love” that New Yorkers can’t get enough of. Known for fried chicken and waf� es, the menu also offers “rustic but modern” American comfort foods and cocktails. Plus, be sure to check out the daily specials.

Café MogadorHaving been around since 1983, Café Mogador is a sort of institution of the Lower East Side. Those who know even credit the family-run Moroccan and Middle Eastern restaurant for being an early pioneer in the NYC restaurant world and downtown cultural hub. Today, Café Mogador is a favorite for brunch among the cool-kids, so visitors hoping to try the Middle Eastern breakfast should plan to get there early.

CONCEPT’S NYC MUST-SEE’S

P O W E R E D B Y : P O W E R E D B Y :

3130

Untitled-9 2 3/10/22 7:17 PM

ForgetmenotCorner of Division and Canal Streets

Hungry Ghost

Corner of Church and Reade Streets

Nike LabMercer St.

Between Canal and Grand Streets

Dudley’sCorner of Orchard

and Broome Streets Regina’sOrchard St. between

Canal and Hester Streets

Sweet ChickCorner of Division and Canal Streets

Vig BarCorner of

Elizabeth and Spring Streets

Cafe MogadorSt. Marks Place

Mamoun’s2nd Ave and St.

Marks Place

ConceptsCorner of University

and 12th Streets

From its inception in 2006, Concepts has been known for an unparalleled brand mix – and the relationships it

has with those brands. The company brings its customers experiences that represent a contemporary luxury and embraces the most exciting elements of contemporary lifestyle. There is no hierarchy of aesthetic or interest in the Concepts brand, to hear Tarket Hassan, owner and founder of Concepts, describe it.

“Concepts has always had a broad perspective,” said Hassan. “We were watching the snowboard boom of the ‘90s, but also seeing sneaker culture root globally. We understood the mix of extreme sports, skate and sneaker culture immediately. We also knew that there was an inherent luxury to it all – something that gave us permission to stretch the boundaries of accessories and, as we’ve grown, our brand mix.”

It seems only fitting then that the New England company would have such a strong connection to New York City, which thrives on blending cultures and setting trends.

“New York moves fast. It creates trends; it supercharges trends,” said Annie Morgan, who oversees the Concepts Brand and label. “New Yorkers are attuned to shifts. The city has an incredible sense of heritage — its shoppers innately understand classic style. Understanding this and having willingness to embrace the avant garde, makes the scene very exciting.”

Setting itself apart, Concepts has always worked to create a “full package experience.” Packaging to the team behind Concepts goes beyond a sneaker box to how they show up in their retail stores or at a launch. Put simply, the

Concepts team wants to create a memory for the consumer.

And these interactions have become part of the conversation, Deon Point, Creative Director for Concepts told Footwear News. “There’s nothing better than hearing from our consumers that they remember coming to us for a specific launch. When we make a shared moment, there is a nostalgia attached to both the experience and the product. Concepts is dedicated to landing that mix.”

“We understood coming into NYC that there was competition,” said Morgan “We also knew there was space for authentic connections to be made. That is our specialty. We want to have a conversation. We want to educated people about what we bring into our stores. We love being storytellers. The ways we do this go back to looking at the behaviors not only of customers, but by looking at contemporary lifestyle culture. Merging that — how people learn, live, and shop — is how we find success.”

When the company opened its first NYC location it was after years of planning, waiting for the correct time and the correct space, Hassan told WWD.

“The Tribeca store was originally designed as a showcase for our collaborations,” said Point. “We opened it as a gallery, something that could change with each product and tell a deeper story. The experiential nature of the space definitely helped us gain a footprint in NYC.”

From opening in New York City with New Balance as its partner to its current location at 99 University Place, Hassan said collaborations have been integral to deepening the brand’s relationship with consumers.

“Our Union Square store reflects our heritage,” said Hassan. “Skate-focused and university

adjacent. We understand the high/low dynamism of streetwear. And New York expects that knowledge, but also embraces evolution. Giving space to our private label in the store, for example, was a perfect way to share our growth and secure our story over 25 years.”

Notably, longtime friend of the company, skateboarder and NYC-native, Vinny Ponte, was influential in the Concepts’ introduction to the New York Skate scene is where the team first got its footing.

“The people who come to Concepts expect a story,” said Point “They are invested in the experiences. We’re lucky to work with great brands. Thinking about Nike, we’ve been able to do things with Nike SB, like the Holy Grail project, and with Nike basketball. The diversity of those projects speaks to our interests, but also matches the holistic interests of our fans. They are not one dimensional,

and Concepts collaborations allow us to really underscore that.”

In fact, after working in partnership with Nike for decades now, Concepts will be furthering its presence in New York City in its latest collaboration with the brand as it will be expanding the experience of the Air Max 1 launch partnering with NikeLab at 21 Mercer and SNKRS pass.

For Concepts, the collaboration represents another opportunity to share its vision in difference spaces. And with 21 Mercer being a sort of hallmark of New York City for global sneaker culture, it’s also a chance to bring the brands unique style for ideas and storytelling to the forefront.

“Over the years, we’ve been progressing our partnership with Nike,” said Hassan. “What was first delivered through Concepts is now delivered across multiple platforms. We share belief in the power of a physical experience. Similarly, we are able to push best-in-class digital experiences together.”

Always looking to evolve and progress in partnerships, Morgan said with Nike it’s a shared mantra of ‘no finish line’ that will “mix our mutual excitement for storytelling and reflect on the unique energy of the city.”

Beyond bringing New Yorkers an experimental experience, a fun aspect of the partnership, Deon Point said, will be the element of surprise since Concepts always strives to push boundaries.

Inspired by the “revolution” that took place when Nike first released the Nike Air Max 1 in 1987,consumers visiting the NYC NikeLab can expect Concepts to bring the “energy of that time” and its out-of-the-box perspective to blend heritage with a consumer experience that “totally bends the mind.”

Since opening doors on Hudson Street in 2014,Concepts has been making its mark on New York.

Concepts’ New York

Warwick Hotel

ForgetmenotA favorite for New Yorkers for being fun and homey, the bar’s eclectic surf-shack décor and funky furniture make visitors feel as though this bar has been around forever. Not to be missed is the golden skateboard that hangs on the wall. (The friendly co-owner Adam Himebauch has been rumored to deliver the kitchen’s Mediterranean food through the lower east side on skateboard.) Visitors can be sure to have a good time.

Dudley’sPerfect for a low-key dining experience, Dudley’s was designed to share the quintessential Australian corner pub-and-bistro with its guests. It’s a place to meet for drinks or share a casual meal with friends on a busy Saturday night and on a quite Tuesday. New Yorkers can enjoy the inviting menu that has something for everyone (from light bites and sandwiches to � lling entrees) with an indoor or outdoor experience.

Mamoun’s FalafelMamoun’s staked its claim as the � rst falafel restaurant in New York in 1971 as well as becoming one of the � rst Middle Eastern establishments in the United States. Still family-owned and operated, the restaurant has stayed true to a philosophy of serving fresh, authentic Middle Eastern cuisine in a fast, casual environment – everything is made from scratch and the � nest imported spices add a special touch to each dish. New Yorkers come to enjoy the restaurant’s rich tradition and the best falafel around. Mogador is a favorite for brunch among the cool-kids, so visitors hoping to try the Middle Eastern breakfast should plan to get there early.

Hungry Ghost Coff eeCreated by Turkish immigrant, Murat Uyaroglu, since 2012, Hungry Ghost Coffee has welcomed New Yorkers with a sense of community that is joyful, focused and proud. The quirky yet charming coffee shop offers satisfying Stumptown coffee and lattes as well as teas and kombucha, but a must have on the menu are the amazing pastries.

The Vig BarThis cozy bar is exactly what you’re looking for in Nolita with its intimate atmosphere, low-key elegance and great music. Ideal for a small group of friends for a late-afternoon drink or happy hour with co-workers as the bar prides itself for a long list of cocktails that are both classic and creative.

Regina’s GroceryBorn in Brooklyn, this Italian sandwich bar is family owned and operated. Designed to bring New Yorkers a bit of “Old New York” experience, the owners strive to bring a part of their family’s history to the menu with each sandwich named for a member of the family they want you to know. True to the family recipe, nothing is processed and each sandwich is made with what the call “the best” from Sullivan Street Bakery and mozzarella from Loni’s to imported essentials from Italy.

Sweet ChickCreated by John Seymour and backed by Nas, Sweet Chick serves Southern love the Brooklyn way. Since 2013, the Sweet Chick team has followed a philosophy to “have fun, eat well and spread love” that New Yorkers can’t get enough of. Known for fried chicken and waf� es, the menu also offers “rustic but modern” American comfort foods and cocktails. Plus, be sure to check out the daily specials.

Café MogadorHaving been around since 1983, Café Mogador is a sort of institution of the Lower East Side. Those who know even credit the family-run Moroccan and Middle Eastern restaurant for being an early pioneer in the NYC restaurant world and downtown cultural hub. Today, Café Mogador is a favorite for brunch among the cool-kids, so visitors hoping to try the Middle Eastern breakfast should plan to get there early.

CONCEPT’S NYC MUST-SEE’S

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GROWING UP in Brockton, Mass.,

Deon Point developed a devotion

to sneakers by taking trips to New

York City to shop at the likes of

Alife and Nort. Then in 2002, his

brother discovered Concepts in

nearby Cambridge.

Today, Point is the creative

director of the retail chain

and a highly respected design

collaborator. However, his path to

get here is anything but traditional.

In 2004, while working in

construction, Point took a part-

time job at Concepts that he

admits was mostly to ensure he

didn’t miss any sneaker releases.

He transitioned to a full-time role

there in 2006, and in 2007 — with

no formal design background

— started creating the retailer’s

sneaker collabs.

What Point lacked in education

he made up for with his

innate curiosity.

“I always had this love for

learning about stuff without being

told in the classroom. I’ll nerd out

now and watch documentaries. I

love little quirky stories that people

don’t know, even if it’s a small

discovery point. Case in point:

the ‘Lobster’ [series],” Point said,

recalling how he excited he was to

discover the sea creatures come in

diverse colors. “I was like, ‘Holy

s**t, this is wild. How can you have

a blue lobster?”

Over the years, Point has

honed his craft and is now lauded

as a talented storyteller, having

delivered the Nike Dunk SB High

“When Pigs Fly” and the New

Balance 997S “Esruc,” among

many others.

This month, the iconic Nike

Air Max 1 is his canvas. The eye-

catching sneakers were inspired by

influential concerts and cultural

events from 1969, specifically

the Harlem Cultural Festival and

Woodstock, and launched via

Concepts on March 5 and March 12,

respectively. The first shoe would

later drop via SNKRS on March 12,

and the second is slated arrive at

select retailers on March 19.

He prides himself on not

skimping on a single detail. “We

did an Adidas shoe based on the

Lufthansa Heist from ‘Goodfellas,’”

said Point. “There are three

random colors on the back Adidas

logo — yellow, red and blue —

and since we couldn’t speak to the

‘Goodfellas’ story too much and

I based the shoe off of the actual

heist, those colors are directly

taken from the Lufthansa logo at

the exact year that the heist

went down.”

Point also refuses to deliver

anything underwhelming. “I don’t

want to do something you can go

and ID on a website for a brand.

It wouldn’t sit well with me. Even

though we go above and beyond

— sometimes actually too far — I’d

rather go that route than just seem

like it was lazy,” he explained.

This approach isn’t lost among

his peers in the industry.

“It’s mandatory for Deon to

find the authentic narrative that

he’s going to use to tell the story.

He doesn’t ever do a collab or a

product just to fill a void,” said

Mike “Upscale Vandal” Camargo,

CEO of The Upscale Group

consulting agency. “Every collab or

project you see them put out has

such intrinsic details and values to

the narrative — and a lot of brands

or people don’t care about that.”

Despite the accolades, Point

remains humble in his approach to

the work.

“I’m not a sculptor or a Museum

of Fine Arts artist. I’m just picking

materials and colors on shoes and

having fun,” he said. “It weird to

even talk about it because I feel like

there are so many talented people

out there who do so much more,

even within our own space.”

And he is quick to give credit to

the person who made this career

possible: Concepts founder and

CEO Tarek Hassan.

“Tarek gave me a huge

opportunity and I’m forever

grateful,” he said. “People are

drawn to me because I’m around

those [sneaker] circles more than T

is — because he’s doing the big-boy

meetings. But at the end of the day,

all credit goes to him.”

Point noted that throughout his

career, Hassan has been a pioneer

in merging categories, seamlessly

pairing Birkenstocks and Clarks

Originals with Nike, Moon Boots

and Canada Goose. And from

Hassan he has learned how to see

retail in a different way.

“When we first got the

proposition from Tarek to do a

Birkenstock collab — this was

in 2014 — I didn’t know what a

Birkenstock was,” Point recalled.

“I knew he sold it in the store, but

I never equated it to something

that would move and shake in our

[sneaker] world.”

He added, “I put up a little

fight, like, ‘That’s not right for us,’

and T was like, ‘Trust me, this is

going to be the biggest thing.’ He

ultimately won the argument, we

worked on it and we came out with

two awesome ones. And to this day

people still ask for them. I had to

eat my words.”

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PROCESS OF CONCEPTS

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

DEON POINT, THE

MASTERMIND BEHIND

THE RETAILER’S ICONIC

COLLABORATIONS.

BY PETER VERRY

Deon Point in the Concepts x Nike Air

Max 1 SP “Heavy”

JOIN US THIS YEAR IN CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF WINNING25TH ANNIVERSARY

B O S T O N N Y C S H A N G H A I D U B A I

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WHY HE WASN’T INITIALLY A

FAN OF “LOBSTER”

“Je� [Staple] did ‘Pigeon’ [with

Nike], so to me, I felt like ‘Lobster’

was our version of ‘Pigeon,’ in a

sense. He had so much energy

surrounding his release — it was

the fi rst [sneaker collab] in the

[New York Post] and New York

was going wild for it. To me,

‘Lobster’ initially seemed like a lazy

idea, and I was nervous of being

compared to ‘Pigeon.’ But what

we did with the shoe, especially

looking back, you can tell they’re

two dynamically di� erent things.”

THE IDEA THAT “LOBSTER”

BEAT OUT

“We had a short window to pitch to

Nike and had submitted two shoes

to make the deadline. One was

basketball jersey material, with a

pair based on the Brooklyn Banks

in New York, a popular skate spot,

and a pair for an area in Boston.

The idea came because a lot of kids

skated with basketball jerseys on.

The other was the lobster idea.

It was like an internal contest and

we went with lobster.”

THE TIME WITH THE

DISASTER SAMPLES

“When we got the fi rst ‘Green

Lobster’ samples, it was completely

wrong. They looked lime green and

one was a hideous, putrid green, like

split pea and ham soup. We were

fearful of sending them o� and the

shoes coming back wrong. We had

to make adjustments sight unseen.

There’s something scary about

signing something o� blindly and

not knowing what you’re going to

get back. I was biting my nails o�

waiting for the shoes to come

in and when I fi nally saw them

I was like, ‘Thank God.’ It was a

pivotal moment for us with the

resurgence of Dunks, and we were

ready to eat them if we didn’t like

how they came out. If we put [the

incorrect shoe] out, there was a DEON POINT

REVEALS LITTLE-

KNOWN FACTS ABOUT

CONCEPTS’ FIVE

FAMED “LOBSTER”

DUNK COLLABS

WITH NIKE.

BY PETER VERRY

risk that it could completely tank

and do irreconcilable damage to us.”

WHY “YELLOW LOBSTER”

IS SO RARE

“We had 36 pairs total. And I know

where they all went — who’s worn

them, who’s beat him up, who’s

given them away. There can’t be

more than eight deadstock pairs in

the entire world.”

THE RAREST “YELLOW LOBSTER”

“I know I have the only [size] 9

that’s deadstock in the world. I’m

100% positive of that.”

DEVELOPING THE COLOR SCHEMES

“When we were doing research, I

was told lobsters can be any color

depending on the depth of the

water, but being that we can only

dive so deep, there’s things in the

ocean that nobody’s seen. We talked

about mixing colors, it was like

kindergarten 101. We did purple

based on red and blue being the

fi rst two, and green based on yellow

mixed with blue.”

ABOUT THE GIANT FOAM CLAWS

“Pepsi did blue Styrofoam lobster

claws for [the release of the ‘Blue

Lobster’]. They called us at the 25th

hour and were like, ‘We want to do

something for you guys. What if we

do foam lobster claws with Pepsi

on it?’ It had nothing to do with the

project, no contract was exchanged,

but I was like, ‘Come drop o� Pepsi

for kids on line and you’ve got a deal.’

I still want one, I never got one.”

From left: “Red Lobster,” “Yellow Lobster” and

“Blue Lobster” Concepts x Nike Dunk SBs

LOBS

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FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT

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TARA MCRAECHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, CLARKSHow they inspire me:“[The sta� ] are always fashionable, knowledgeable about their brands and the culture in general, and never too cool to help. These qualities are instilled into the team directly from the leadership of founder and CEO Tarek Hassan, who has gone out of his way on many occasions to befriend and mentor young people in the industry.”Lessons others can learn from Concepts: “There are countless examples of retailers who, when given the opportunity to grow, lost a sense of their identity. Concepts’ authenticity as a brand that supports skate culture has always been paramount to who they are, and you can see that in their retail footprint to this day. And while they have evolved to carry a variety of brands, including those in the luxury space, there is always an element of the fun and counterculture that goes hand in hand with that skate heritage.” Favorite personal memory: “I was down at their shop on a release day with my kids to shop and show them the recent Clarks drops that Concepts had. To see this buzz that I grew up on with my kids was super exciting. Now they are hooked. ‘Can we go back to Concepts?’”

RUSTY HALLCEO, MEPHISTO USABiggest point of di� erence: “Concepts continues to stretch the boundaries for fashion and function. They are uniquely unique.”How they inspire me: “Tarek leads by example and

the brand leads the industry in much the same way.” Lessons others can learn from Concepts: “How to think out of the box. From design to delivery to the consumer, they think outside the box.”

ARI UOLDE-MARIAMSALES MANAGER, ONBiggest point of di� erence: “Concepts has always been the leader in product storytelling within the industry. Everything from the packaging to the minute details, they’ve always found a way to present compelling stories to consumers in an authentic way that ties back to the retailer’s values and DNA. They’ve never been shy about showcasing their foundations in sport and, most importantly, being a champion for Boston.”Lessons others can learn from Concepts: “Never lose sight of the importance of storytelling. There are far too many product collaborations with a lack of total consideration. Take a page out of the Concepts playbook and focus on every aspect and detail of a project.”Favorite personal memory: “I spent a few years living in Boston and the Concepts team always made me feel welcome in their city. Though our early interactions were of a professional nature, we quickly became friends and I felt like I was part of their local community. They are truly a Boston establishment and look to welcome everyone into their world.”

SEAN MCDOWELLSENIOR VP OF GLOBAL PRODUCT, SPERRYBiggest point of di� erence: “We absolutely love working with the Concepts team. They respect our 80+ years of heritage, but they are always looking for a way to give it a modern twist. They push us to challenge the status quo, to present new ideas in fresh and relevant ways.

How they inspire me:“Tarek Hassan and Deon Point are some of the best footwear professionals in the industry. They have an excellent sense of style and their experience in launching world class product is phenomenal. They have an eye for color and materials that is second to none. I always love visiting Concepts retail door on Newbury Street in Boston. They focus on beautiful displays, allowing clean space between projects almost like a museum.Favorite personal memory: “I was fl ipping through my Instagram in the fall and saw Deon throwing out the fi rst pitch at the Boston Red Sox game. Pretty incredible! I mean who lives like that?”

JOE SPIESVP OF NORTH AMERICAN WHOLESALE, CONVERSEBiggest point of di� erence: “What sets Concepts apart is their storytelling. They are

second to none in crafting and delivering compelling retail stories with range. In their presentations, we’ve seen them capture the spirit of our core Chuck Taylor All Stars and we’ve also seen them create unique environments for our limited-edition drops. Concepts knows how to create a customer journey and build a world that provides a look inside the Converse universe.”Lessons others can learn from Concepts: “Concepts is the kind of retailer where each consumer can engage with Converse on their own terms no matter where

they are in their life journey. Concepts knows how to stretch the imagination of its consumers and they show that execution can be purposeful and intentional but also fun.”

FELIX ZAHNDIRECTOR OF MERCHANDISE, PLANNING AND ALLOCATION, ECCO USALessons others can learn from Concepts: “Embrace where you are coming from and stick to your roots, while at the same time challenge the status quo and try the unexpected. There is also a pleasant way of working and collaborating with the Concepts team. You rarely meet people who are this

respectful and humble, despite all the success they are having.” Favorite personal memory: “I have to go back 12 years here. I had just moved to the U.S. from Europe and started to work for Ecco USA. My first customer visit was going down to Boston to meet a guy named Tarek. I was obviously super nervous. At the same time, I was very impressed with the Concepts store in Cambridge and their outstanding merchandise. Since this visit, we’ve have developed a good friendship.”

CONCEPTS BRAND

PARTNERS REVEAL

THE SECRETS TO ITS

CONTINUING SUCCESS,

FROM INNOVATIVE

DESIGN AND

MERCHANDISING

TO STANDOUT

CUSTOMER SERVICE.

BY TARA LARSON

CONCEPTS CONTINUES TO STRETCH THE BOUNDARIES FOR FASHION AND FUNCTION. THEY ARE UNIQUELY UNIQUE.— RUSTY HALLGO

OD W

ORDS

Brands and retailers seeking fresh perspectives on fashion, style-for-ward solutions, and some much-needed sunshine; can head out

west to Palm Springs for the debut of Fash-ionGo’s first in-person trade event – and the novel experience will be a strategic merging of the firm’s wholesale known-how with its robust digital community to breathe new life into the B2B market.

Held in conjunction with FashionGo Week Palm Springs on May 3-5 at the Palm Springs Convention Center and organized by FashionGo Events, the debut event marks the evolution of FashionGo from a strictly digital entity to a live, intelli-gently-interactive affair.

Established in 2002 in the heart of the Los Angeles Fashion District, FashionGo, a B2B wholesale online marketplace that fos-ters industry-wide connectivity and fash-ion-related opportunities. Part of NHN Global; FashionGo boasts an extensive list of vendors and an ever-growing community of retailers that engage with the firm’s solu-tions, service, and insightful industry data.

A strong focus on cultivating relation-ships and omnichannel retailing; the idea for FashionGo’s event is to blend physical and digital wholesale discovery and com-merce while broadening accessibility to the wholesale market – and with a robust qual-ity-vetted exhibitor list.

Here, Tom Nastos, FashionGo Events, talks to Fairchild Studio about cultivat-ing relationships, FashionGo’s commitment to local and wholesale communities, and what’s trending up in the wholesale market.

Fairchild Studio: Tell us about the

genesis of this show. What led to

FashionGo’s decision to evolve into an

in-person event?

Tom Nastos: B2B wholesale buying is evolving. Retailers have been adopting ‘fast-turn’ merchandising strategies to increase their sell-through and allow for the flexi-bility to purchase based upon immediate customer demand or market trend.

The market dynamic has only acceler-ated since the pandemic with digital whole-sale adoption vastly increasing. However, the need for retailers to see, touch, and feel prod-ucts remains a crucial part of the discovery journey, which can’t be replicated online.

FashionGo Events was launched with the purpose of meeting this market need, creat-ing frequent market access both online and in-person. FashionGo Week Palm Springs & New York will combine the creativ-ity, rich-experience, and sense of commu-nity, with the convenience, speed, the effi-ciency of powerful technology, and data driven tools. Integrating FashionGo’s digi-tal marketplace; streaming media, and live event opportunities into a seamless shop-ping experience.

FashionGo Events is focused on creating market access for all our customers to dis-cover, connect, and transact. By fusing the very best of online and offline shopping, we make it efficient, and convenient, for both retailers and brands to do business with one another, and securely purchase products.

Fairchild Studio: Why is this event

distinctive in the fashion market?

T.N.: Today’s rapid adoption of digital buy-ing behavior has severely disadvantaged tra-ditional tradeshows and physical markets. Many organizers have pivoted to digital offerings; however, none fully support seam-less end-to-end transactions, and market access that quickly fulfills open-to-buy, while replenishing inventory. Typically, retailers are provided brand lists and digital look-books of exhibitors prior to market that attendees can browse prior to the show.

FashionGo Week Palm Springs, our debut event; will offer retailers the ability to have a more digital, consumer-like interac-tion with brands and products. We will offer

the ability to browse, and explore online, the same as they would offline, within the FashionGo platform. Retailers can search and discover actual products – not brand-lists and categories – and can bookmark and favorite items they want to see in person.

To further support order placing and seamless transactions, at the event, retail-ers can use the FashionGo mobile app to securely purchase products immediately, while efficiently tracking their shipments directly to their stores.

Retailers will love discovering new and trending styles, with FashionGo’s innovative visual search technology tool Style Match+. Available on the mobile app, which will help them quickly find products both online and in-person; from brands like By Together, Polagram, and Le Lis. Style Match+ quickly finds similar style products based on an image from wherever inspiration strikes – the web, social media, or a favorite celebrity.

For those that cannot attend the event in person; FashionGo Week online will run concurrently with FashionGo Week Palm Springs. It will feature the same digital ben-efits, and promotions, with an emphasis on live streaming, and social selling.

Brands such as Maker’s Shoes, Lush, Fate, or even Wishlist will be able to connect with our vast online audience on our GoLive Streaming media channel, offering real-time chat, and shoppable collections.

We’re really excited to offer retailer’s exclusive access to our GoLive Social Selling Studio, à la Palm Springs style. Retailers can

invite their social media audiences on their onsite shopping journey, and they can easily find out what their customers want before even placing an order.

Fairchild Studio: In what ways does

FashionGo support the wholesale

community?

T.N.: As we all know; the industry has under-gone a major evolution. Brands and Retailers have been catapulted into a digital future. Responding to this, we’ve put a big empha-sis on understanding and providing the types of omnichannel market access the industry needs now and moving forward.

In addition to high quality market access, we also support our community with value added services that save them time and money. FashionGo Rewards programs that allow retailers to shop and earn points to save on future purchases. Services like Consolidated Shipping; whereby a retailer can purchase from multiple participating brands and receive their order in one single shipment. Those are real dollars going back into the pockets of our community, not to mention the time and convenience of track-ing one single shipment.

FashionGo supports buyers and sellers of all stages to shop smarter, sell more, and grow faster.

Fairchild Studio: How is FashionGo

bringing the local community to life?

T.N.: Palm Springs is an iconic destination – dare we say, a resort location. Folks want to go to a great destination. Palm Springs has already been branded as an “oasis.” It has so much to offer our community, espe-cially around health and wellness, including outdoor activities, a diverse range of dining experiences, shopping, and nightlife, at vari-ous price points to fit any budget.

We are working closely with Palm Springs to provide endless offerings and opportunities to our attendees. We want them to curate their own journey, whether with family, friends, or business partners – there’s something for everyone. Our inten-tion is for it to be immersive and inclusive. Local businesses are also a focus, and we want to support them.

Fairchild Studio: What’s next for

FashionGo Events?

T.N.: We are making data driven deci-sions on expanding to new locations; we will be expanding to New York this upcoming November 7-9. As we grow the live events, expect new approaches to the discovery pro-cess using our platform.

We’re strategically working with brands to provide protective market exclusivity – especially for distribution.

FashionGo will debut its first in-person omnichannel B2B wholesale fashion event in the ever-stylish mountain town of Palm Springs.

Wholesale Fashion Redefined

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FashionGo Week Palm Springs, will offer retailers the ability to have a more digital, consumer-like interaction with brands and products.

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OOFOS discusses its OOfoam™ performance absorbent technology and trendsetting role in the recovery segment.

Footwear Forecast: The Future is Foam

Shrewd brands and retailers are already riding the wellness wave – but companies such as OOFOS, a recovery footwear brand, are a

standout in the segment for their technology that delivers a gratifyingly effectual experi-ence for the wearer.

Distinguished for its proprietary perfor-mance absorbent technology that cocoons the contours of a foot, OOFOS told FN that its footwear indeed possesses wholly unconventional properties. “Our propri-etary OOfoam™ technology is what makes the experience of our products so indescrib-able and separates OOFOS from other per-formance and cushioned footwear.”

“OOfoam™ del ivers enhanced impact-absorbing properties that have been

shown in studies to reduce load, more effec-tively distribute pressure and alleviate stresses on the body – helping aid in recovery and eliminate asymmetry and imbalance.”

Considered by some to be a new cate-gory in footwear, the recovery sector includes well-cushioned shoes embedded with tech-nical support, alongside other advantageous performance qualities. OOFOS’s technol-ogy absorbs 37 percent more impact than traditional foam footwear, positioning it as a prime choice for professional athletes, physical therapists and medical practitioners seeking products that alleviate stress on feet and joints.

“Technology is the thing that makes OOFOS different from other ‘comfortable’ footwear and elevates us to a scientifically

proven recovery solution. It’s this technol-ogy that provides the perfect combination of soft and stable, enabling the feet & body to move more optimally – like it would on a soft, natural surface such as grass. It’s not just soft, it’s OOfoam™ and it’s only from OOFOS,” the brand said.

REIMAGINING RECOVERYThe only way to understand OOFOS’s

unique performance qualities is to put them to the test, according to Arnie Kander, a physical therapist and strength and condi-tioning coach in the NBA, namely for the Detroit Pistons and “Bad Boys of Detroit”.

“In the sports world, any competitive edge – whether its one percent or more – is significant! We are always looking for the

various things that can support those gains and often do not share this with the compet-itors to keep that edge to ourselves,” Kander told FN. “I really feel that OOFOS could be a game changer to not just high-level athletes, but anyone who slides them on their feet.”

Kander explained that in the sports sphere, it is common to see similar modal-ities and concepts in strength, balance, power, movement, and other aspects of per-formance. “Even in recovery, most every-body uses compression, stretching, soft tissue and fascial work, cryotherapy, acupuncture, infrared technology, and other modalities. One of the most missed concepts is what do we do to recover throughout the day. OOFOS helps to address this by creating

the perfect shoe to assist with reducing the inflammatory burden as we are moving or standing which is one of the keys to opti-mize recovery.”

And OOFOS has been dedicated to the recovery cause since its inception, and its roots enable the brand to be uniquely posi-tioned to lead recovery footwear innovation and trends in the sports performance space.

“OOFOS has been focused solely on recovery since the start when we launched The OOriginal – recovery footwear. Using a combination of our proprietary technology – specifically designed to support recovery – and combining it with a patented foot-bed design that maximizes the properties of OOfoam™, we laid the foundation for the broadest line of recovery footwear avail-able,” the brand told FN.

Podiatrist and marathon runner Timo-thy Karthas, DPM, told FN that after trying hundreds of different shoes and sandals for recovery, OOFOS’s footwear were the only shoes he didn’t want to take off. “[OOFOS’s shoes] improved areas of chronic pain in my feet and ankles almost immediately. To this day, whether it is after exercising or just walking at home on hardwood floors, I’m hardly ever without a pair on my feet.”

And all this is due to the level of comfort that comes from the “combination of struc-ture and cushioning that just feels good on tired and always injured feet like mine,” he explained, adding that in the recovery space, “there isn’t another sandal or shoe brand with this level of comfort and support, but what makes the OOFOS brand truly stand out is their determination to both improve and back up their products with research.”

STRIKING A BALANCETechnically speaking, according to Kar-

thas, accelerated recovery outcomes from OOFOS’s footwear is due to the elevated arch that is apparent when the shoes are first put on. “This allows for reduced pressure in the ball of the foot and the heel where injuries are common. It also helps to reduce excess motion and strain on the large ten-dons that help to stabilize the foot and ankle. After vigorous exercise, the muscles become fatigued, resulting in asymmetries and imbalances in gait and posture that can result in injury,” he said.

“By improving stability by design through arch support and a slight heel cup to stabilize the heel, the muscles are given less work to do which helps them recover

more quickly and lead to less injury.” Kar-thas added that the material itself – its OOfoam™ that is “a perfect combina-tion of feeling cushioned, but also stable” – allows for greater surface area of contact with the foot through cushioning while still holding its structure and preventing excess movement. “The result is more even pres-sure distribution and less stress to the joints and muscles, which can translate to better injury resistance and faster recovery.”

The brand noted that its unwavering consistency has allowed it to receive certi-fications such as the APMA seal of Accep-tance across every product and be adopted by medical professionals, high-performing athletes, and artists such as NFL veteran Alex Smith; Olympic Gold-Medalist/World Ski Champion Ashley Caldwell; Professional Triathlete Matt Russell; Boston Ballet Prin-cipal Dancer Chyrstyn Fentroy; and Bas-ketball legend Dawn Staley, among many others.

OOFOS told FN, “With our consistent approach of using the same footbed and OOfoam™ technology in every design – from sandals to clogs to boots and slippers – we are able to bring recovery into anyone’s life(style) with a proven solution.”

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OOFOS discusses its OOfoam™ performance absorbent technology and trendsetting role in the recovery segment.

Footwear Forecast: The Future is Foam

Shrewd brands and retailers are already riding the wellness wave – but companies such as OOFOS, a recovery footwear brand, are a

standout in the segment for their technology that delivers a gratifyingly effectual experi-ence for the wearer.

Distinguished for its proprietary perfor-mance absorbent technology that cocoons the contours of a foot, OOFOS told FN that its footwear indeed possesses wholly unconventional properties. “Our propri-etary OOfoam™ technology is what makes the experience of our products so indescrib-able and separates OOFOS from other per-formance and cushioned footwear.”

“OOfoam™ del ivers enhanced impact-absorbing properties that have been

shown in studies to reduce load, more effec-tively distribute pressure and alleviate stresses on the body – helping aid in recovery and eliminate asymmetry and imbalance.”

Considered by some to be a new cate-gory in footwear, the recovery sector includes well-cushioned shoes embedded with tech-nical support, alongside other advantageous performance qualities. OOFOS’s technol-ogy absorbs 37 percent more impact than traditional foam footwear, positioning it as a prime choice for professional athletes, physical therapists and medical practitioners seeking products that alleviate stress on feet and joints.

“Technology is the thing that makes OOFOS different from other ‘comfortable’ footwear and elevates us to a scientifically

proven recovery solution. It’s this technol-ogy that provides the perfect combination of soft and stable, enabling the feet & body to move more optimally – like it would on a soft, natural surface such as grass. It’s not just soft, it’s OOfoam™ and it’s only from OOFOS,” the brand said.

REIMAGINING RECOVERYThe only way to understand OOFOS’s

unique performance qualities is to put them to the test, according to Arnie Kander, a physical therapist and strength and condi-tioning coach in the NBA, namely for the Detroit Pistons and “Bad Boys of Detroit”.

“In the sports world, any competitive edge – whether its one percent or more – is significant! We are always looking for the

various things that can support those gains and often do not share this with the compet-itors to keep that edge to ourselves,” Kander told FN. “I really feel that OOFOS could be a game changer to not just high-level athletes, but anyone who slides them on their feet.”

Kander explained that in the sports sphere, it is common to see similar modal-ities and concepts in strength, balance, power, movement, and other aspects of per-formance. “Even in recovery, most every-body uses compression, stretching, soft tissue and fascial work, cryotherapy, acupuncture, infrared technology, and other modalities. One of the most missed concepts is what do we do to recover throughout the day. OOFOS helps to address this by creating

the perfect shoe to assist with reducing the inflammatory burden as we are moving or standing which is one of the keys to opti-mize recovery.”

And OOFOS has been dedicated to the recovery cause since its inception, and its roots enable the brand to be uniquely posi-tioned to lead recovery footwear innovation and trends in the sports performance space.

“OOFOS has been focused solely on recovery since the start when we launched The OOriginal – recovery footwear. Using a combination of our proprietary technology – specifically designed to support recovery – and combining it with a patented foot-bed design that maximizes the properties of OOfoam™, we laid the foundation for the broadest line of recovery footwear avail-able,” the brand told FN.

Podiatrist and marathon runner Timo-thy Karthas, DPM, told FN that after trying hundreds of different shoes and sandals for recovery, OOFOS’s footwear were the only shoes he didn’t want to take off. “[OOFOS’s shoes] improved areas of chronic pain in my feet and ankles almost immediately. To this day, whether it is after exercising or just walking at home on hardwood floors, I’m hardly ever without a pair on my feet.”

And all this is due to the level of comfort that comes from the “combination of struc-ture and cushioning that just feels good on tired and always injured feet like mine,” he explained, adding that in the recovery space, “there isn’t another sandal or shoe brand with this level of comfort and support, but what makes the OOFOS brand truly stand out is their determination to both improve and back up their products with research.”

STRIKING A BALANCETechnically speaking, according to Kar-

thas, accelerated recovery outcomes from OOFOS’s footwear is due to the elevated arch that is apparent when the shoes are first put on. “This allows for reduced pressure in the ball of the foot and the heel where injuries are common. It also helps to reduce excess motion and strain on the large ten-dons that help to stabilize the foot and ankle. After vigorous exercise, the muscles become fatigued, resulting in asymmetries and imbalances in gait and posture that can result in injury,” he said.

“By improving stability by design through arch support and a slight heel cup to stabilize the heel, the muscles are given less work to do which helps them recover

more quickly and lead to less injury.” Kar-thas added that the material itself – its OOfoam™ that is “a perfect combina-tion of feeling cushioned, but also stable” – allows for greater surface area of contact with the foot through cushioning while still holding its structure and preventing excess movement. “The result is more even pres-sure distribution and less stress to the joints and muscles, which can translate to better injury resistance and faster recovery.”

The brand noted that its unwavering consistency has allowed it to receive certi-fications such as the APMA seal of Accep-tance across every product and be adopted by medical professionals, high-performing athletes, and artists such as NFL veteran Alex Smith; Olympic Gold-Medalist/World Ski Champion Ashley Caldwell; Professional Triathlete Matt Russell; Boston Ballet Prin-cipal Dancer Chyrstyn Fentroy; and Bas-ketball legend Dawn Staley, among many others.

OOFOS told FN, “With our consistent approach of using the same footbed and OOfoam™ technology in every design – from sandals to clogs to boots and slippers – we are able to bring recovery into anyone’s life(style) with a proven solution.”

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ST Y L E D I R E CTO R S H A N N O N A D D U C C I

P H OTO G R A P H S BY J O S H U A S C O T T

E D I TO R I A L AS S I STA N TTA R A L A R S O N

AS EVERYDAY LIFE CONTINUES TO REINVENT ITSELF, THE UBIQUITOUS LEGGING REMAINS THE SINGULAR ITEM TO TRANSCEND WORK AND PLAY, SPORT AND LOUNGE — AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.

CALZEDONIA active leggings withJIMMY CHOO Saeda suede pumps with crystal ankle detail

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TORY BURCH high-rise Sculpt chevron leggings with NIKE Air Zoom SuperRep 2 trainers and MARIA LA ROSA mesh socks

SPLITS59 Janis high-waist Techflex color-block leggings with CHLOÉ Nama embroidered sneakers

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NIKE Dri-Fit One luxe buckle leggings and crew socks with DOLCE & GABBANA mixed-material Space sneakers and JENNIFER FISHER chain-link anklets

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LEMON faux fur-lined leggings with BY FAR Freya

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link cuff and brass ring

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Q & A 48 O F F I C E V I S I T 50 U P C L O S E 51 F I R S T L O O K 52 B U Z Z 53 CAS E S T U DY 54 F I V E Q S 55 S P O T L I G H T 56

WHAT TO EXPECT Ryka conceives a shoe collection made for

expectant moms. 52

GO ALL OUT Why recovery brand Oofos is making a play for the outdoor market. 48

For the launch of its much-anticipated footwear collection, Lululemon took a women-focused approach. The activewear brand relied on measurement data and foot scans to o� er a shoe specifi cally designed for the female foot instead of adapting existing men’s styles. The collection kicks o� with the women’s Blissfeel running shoe, available for purchase March 22. Two more training shoes, the Chargefeel (pictured) and Strongfeel, plus a slide for recovery, the Restfeel, will also launch later in the year, followed by men’s footwear in 2023.

LADIES FIRST

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L I S T

Recovery footwear is having a

moment, and few companies are

capitalizing like Oofos.

Since COVID-19 hit stateside, the

brand has tapped former NFL stars

Deion Sanders and Alex Smith as

ambassadors and delivered several

silhouettes for people seeking

recovery and comfort.

One recent new style is the

OOcandoo, a closed-toe look made

for the outdoor adventurer, another

consumer group that grew as a result

of COVID.

Oofos president Steve Gallo

told FN its foray into the outdoor

market grew from customer demand.

“We’ve seen an explosion of people

getting outside to experience the

environment, with COVID getting

people who want to exercise more

and want to hike. We’ve had a

lot of people that are asking for a

product that they can wear in that

environment,” he said.

Gallo added that interest in

recovery shoes ignited during the

pandemic due to the stresses of life

and people working from home.

But it continues to gain steam for

many reasons. “People are starting to

understand the concept of recovery,

what it means in your life,” he said.

“The defi nition around it for footwear

and relaxation [is] I want to stay at

my best to keep doing the things I

love at the level I want to do them at.”

The brand is also making

inroads with new retail channels.

“We interact with other stores and

get feedback on what’s doing well,

and by far they all say, ‘You need to

have Oofos,’” said Bekah Metzdorff,

co-owner of specialty run stores

Mill City Running and Saint City

Running, which started carrying

Oofos mid-February. “For us, it’s

about serving the customer, and if

people love them and want more,

then we’ll carry more.”

Here, Gallo talks about

maintaining momentum amid

challenges.

How do you ensure people are still seeking Oofos as COVID restrictions loosen and a sense of normalcy returns?SG: “The answer is we’re more than

comfort. We’re recovery. We have

a licensed proprietary technology

called OOfoam that we keep under

lock and key. What that provides the

consumer is beyond comfort.”

How has the supply chain backlog impacted Oofos?SG: “Like most people, we missed

sales through the summer months,

but we’re in very good shape. We’re

fortunate our factory in Vietnam

did not shut down 100%. It was 50%

capacity, so we still had products

coming in. One thing with the port

congestion, transit time from our

factory to our warehouse in the U.S.

has been a big challenge. But our

operations team has done a great job

working with different folks. And like

many, we’ve had to air freight some

product in. We’re a small company,

so it can certainly get expensive, but

it’s helped us a lot.”

Oofos has signed Deion Sanders and Alex Smith, as well as women’s college basketball coach Dawn Staley. What do you look for in an ambassador?SG: “Those relationships with Alex

and Deion are authentic. They

found the product, they utilized the

product — Alex during his recovery,

he had a tough injury to deal with,

and then Deion the same thing, he

had multiple surgeries on his feet

and loved what the product provided

him. Authenticity is a key value in

our company and we make sure the

people who work with us from an

ambassadorship perspective believe

in the product. We also have Dawn

Staley, the South Carolina basketball

coach. She’s another one who found

Oofos. I love when she tells the story

about how she has Oofos in her car

and Oofos in her foyer, under the

desk in her offi ce. The other one who

works with us is Guy Fieri.”

Aside from the OOcandoo, what other styles are slated for 2022?SG: “[In January, we launched] an

indoor winter slipper called the

OOcoozie. We [heard] people saying,

‘My feet get cold in the winter

wearing your sandals in my house,’

so we developed the fl eece upper.

There’s a mule and a slip-on. We

recently launched the OOcoozie Low,

one of our most consumer-requested

products to date. It’s an indoor/

outdoor slip-on that pairs soft sherpa

uppers with our OOfoam footbed.

This spring, we will launch a men’s

and women’s mule version. We are

continuing to expand the recovery

footwear category with new styles

that bring functional footwear into all

the places our customers need [it].”

What is still missing from the Oofos product assortment?SG: “We’re going to focus more on

sport-oriented models. We’ve got

plenty of product, there’s a lot of

momentum in closed-toe product,

like the OOmg eeZE and those type

of shoes. We get a lot of people that

say, ‘I’ve heard great things about

your brand, do you have a shoe?’

so people are starting to gravitate

toward that. We’re updating colors

and so forth. We’ve also got a

winter recovery boot called the

OObootie. Those are coming back in

stock and we’re excited about that

as well.”

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Why Oofos president Steve Gallo wants to venture into the outdoor market.By Peter Verry

LAND OF OPPORTUNITY

Steve Gallo

The new OOcandoo for outdoor adventurers

DIGITAL EVENTS

FAIRCHILD MEDIA GROUP

MARCH 16, 2:30PM ET

REGIS TER TODAY:

WEBINAR

How Athletic Footwear Brands are Leading with Customer-First Technologies

P R E S E N T E D B Y

Footwear’s Future is Digital:

There’s no question that digital is driving the heat in the athletic space — from product to marketing and from online to in-store.

With every brand and retailer racing to keep up with the latest technology, what are the most important areas to focus on in 2022? How do you make sure your message resonates with consumers at all touchpoints?

Our group of brand leaders and experts will give the tools to help navigate the year ahead. Topics include:

■ How digital tech evolution helped the athletic industry thrive during the pandemic and the biggest ways companies and brands evolved their tech platforms during this critical time

■ How brands and retailers are using automation, personalization and predictive analytics to improve customer experience

■ Why mobile should be the biggest focus going forward to maintain consistent messaging, from email to social to in store

MODERATOR:

Shoshy CimentBusiness EditorFN

Audra BeutlerCRM and Email Marketing ManagerBrooks Running

Monica DeretichRetail Industry AdvisorSailthru

Kat HachmeyerDirector of Growth MarketingFila North America

FEATURING:

For assistance or attendee questions, please contact Abbie Baron at abaron@fairchildfashion.com

FN_Webinar_Sailthru.forFN.indd 1 3/8/22 5:40 PMUntitled-1 1 3/9/22 1:19 PM

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O F F I C E V I S I T

Ecco USA president and CEO Tom Berry

The light-fi lled showroom space

The architect was Shea Inc. and the

contractor was Salt Construction

The Ecco studio was designed in-house

Brooklyn has a new resident.

Danish footwear brand Ecco has

unveiled an offi ce and showroom

in the redeveloped Brooklyn Navy

Yard, an industrial complex that

has become a technology and

manufacturing hub.

The modern, light-fi lled Ecco

Studio at Brooklyn Navy Yard was

completed at the end of 2021 and is

now the home base for members of

Ecco’s design and development team,

as well as its new U.S. president

and CEO, Tom Berry, who joined

in January.

“We’re dramatically increasing

our footprint in Brooklyn to get more

serious about the U.S. marketplace

— and also because Brooklyn is a

global leading market,” said Berry, an

industry veteran who previously has

worked with Levi’s, Tecnica, Salomon

and The North Face.

The brand is also adding a

“consumer center of excellence” in

the building in the next six months.

Those teams will be focused

on Ecco’s direct-to-consumer and

e-commerce operations, as well as

sales, marketing and PR. “We want

to make sure we bring a strong

consumer point of view, and

the best way to do that is by getting

much closer to the consumer,” said

the CEO.

Berry also emphasized the

advantages for recruitment and the

ability to tap into Brooklyn’s young

and more diverse talent pool. And

by having a presence in New York,

Ecco will have greater access to retail

buyers and potential collaborators.

In addition to its global

headquarters in Denmark, Ecco will

continue to maintain its offi ces in

Londonderry, N.H. Berry said the

addition of the Brooklyn location

is part of a hybrid business model,

which will allow employees more

fl exibility in their work locations.

HELLO BROOKLYNAs Ecco puts down roots in the New York borough, a look inside its new studio and showroom. By Jennie Bell

OFFICE VISIT

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Since husband-and-wife Jeremy and

Lila Stewart founded Hari Mari a

decade ago, the couple have steadily

grown their Dallas-based fl ip-fl op

brand by expanding fi rst into casual

sandals, then closed-toe footwear

and in 2021 they launched an

apparel line.

Now with Hari Mari’s spring ’22

collection, the brand has kicked o�

a new sustainable category, HM Eco.

Its debut style, the Sonoros for men

and women, boasts a vegan leather

upper made from cactus fi bers, as

well as a recycled rubber outsole and

recycled EVA cushioning. It launched

this month online and with key retail

partners, retailing for $75.

“The cool thing about this [upper]

material — as it pertains to fl ip-

fl ops — is obviously a cactus can

withstand heat,” said Lila Stewart.

“It can withstand water and all the

things that you’d want in a fl ip-fl op.”

Stewart said the leather

alternative was developed by a

company in Mexico that Hari Mari

met through its factory in León. The

material is made from Nopal cactus

(best known as prickly pear), and

the fi bers are harvested only from

mature leaves without damaging the

plant itself.

“When we started our company 10

years, this kind of stu� didn’t exist,”

said Stewart. “It’s fun to think what

could continue to change in this

category. And we want to continue to

push the envelope and o� er products

that are sustainable.”

Stewart said Hari Mari has been

in heavy growth mode the past

two years, seeing major gains in its

digital business. And recently the

brand has added more retailers to its

roster, including new partners Urban

Outfi tters, Evereve and Orvis.

To help manage growth, Hari Mari

hired Jake Szczepanski as president

in January 2021, the former co-

founder and CEO of Billy Reid.

Szczepanski is tasked with scaling its

internal operations and supply chain.

He’s also spearheading Hari Mari’s

apparel collection and oversees its

brick-and-mortar retail strategy.

In May 2021, Hari Mari launched

its fi rst fl agship in Dallas’ recently

revived Knox District. Stewart said

more store openings could be on the

horizon, in cities like Charleston or

Nashville, but the rollout would be

slow. “We don’t have the desire to

open hundreds or even dozens of

stores, that’s not on our agenda,”

she said.

L I S TU P C L O S E

The desert provided a key ingredient for Hari Mari’s new product expansion. By Jennie Bell

The eco-friendly Sonoros fl ip-fl op

TURN UPTHE HEAT

UP CLOSE

The Texas-based brand turns 10

this year

TWO TEN SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS

ARE NOW OPEN150

TWO TEN SCHOLARS$614,000

IN SCHOLARSHIPS

TWOTEN.ORG/SCHOLARSHIPSTo complete an application To learn about our current Two Ten scholars

TWOTEN.ORG/CURRENT-SCHOLARS

across 32 states to footwear employees and their families

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L I S T

FIRSTLOOK

L I S TL I S T

Ryka is living up to its mantra of “made for

women.” The athletic label, a division of

Caleres, is launching the fi rst maternity shoe

collection, called Xpectfi t, set to hit stores in time

for Mother’s Day. It consists of three styles:

the Love Life sneaker and Laid Back mule for everyday wear and the

Lovable sneaker for more active moms to be. All

the shoes are equipped with OrthoLite foam

insoles and the brand’s proprietary Rezorb-

Lite cushioning, as well as high-traction rubber

outsoles. But most importantly, the

styles are designed to adjust along with a

woman’s changing feet. — Jennie Bell

F I R S T L O O K

RYKA XPECTFIT

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TARGET CONSUMER: PREGNANT WOMEN

PRICE RANGE: $100-$120LAUNCH DATE: MAY 2022

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T H E B U Z Z

T E A M I N G U PKane Footwear has released its fi rst collaborative design. The 1-year-old active recovery shoe brand tapped fi tness lifestyle infl uencer and founder of HPL Training Brian Mazza to create his own version of its signa-ture Revive sneaker. Mazza’s colorway sees the style in earth tones, a nod to Mazza’s need to get back to the root of who he is as a person. And on the sole of the shoe is a logo featuring Mazza’s motto, “Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes,” which acts as an accountability check each time you put on the shoe, Mazza said. The fi tness guru start-ed working with Kane three months before its o� cial launch last year. Meanwhile, the brand also inked a sponsorship deal last month with Hilary Knight of the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team, who took home her fourth Olympic medal from the Winter Games in Beijing.

O P E N S E A S O NVionic is introducing two new recovery san-dals for men and women, set to hit shelves in mid-May. The styles include the Rejuvenate, a

slide with an adjustable upper that comes in four colors; and the Restore, a thong sandal o� ered in fi ve colors. Both will retail for $80 and are equipped with Vionic’s Three-Zone Comfort system that provides stability, arch support and cushioning in order to deliver natural alignment. The sandals are meant to serve a range of recovery needs, including after sports, post surgery or following any taxing activity. The sandals are targeted to the brand’s current retailers.

B L E N D I N G I NHoka One One has given its popular all-gender Ora recovery slide a camouflage update. A trio of camo colorways launched online this spring in black, white and dune/oxford tan. The sandal, retailing for $50, is built with a dual-layer construction featur-ing a soft EVA top layer for instant comfort and a durable oversized midsole/outsole, as well as the brand’s early-stage Meta-

Rocker innovation to offer the wearer a smooth ride. Also, Hoka added strategic groove placement, meant to provide both comfort and traction.

THE BUZZ

Vionic’s Rejuvenate recovery slide

Brian Mazza models his Kane shoe collab

Hoka One One camo-print sandals

For sponsorship opportunities contact trawson@twoten.org

Monday, June 6 pier sixty, NYC

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When Glenn Barrett founded his

OrthoLite insole company in 1997,

the inside of a shoe was “a hot

and smelly and sweaty place,” the

CEO recalled recently to FN.

“I was introduced to a new

material by a chemist in Taiwan —

an open-cell breathable PU foam that

wicks moisture and we put anti-

microbial [features] in it. I fi gured

this is an absolute natural to make

it to be an insole,” Barrett told FN

about the company’s origins.

His gamble has certainly paid

off. OrthoLite now supplies footwear

insoles to more than 350 brands,

from athletic giants like Nike and

Adidas to fashion players such

as Michael Kors, Kenneth Cole and

Sam Edelman. And its business

continues to grow amid the market-

wide shift toward sneakers and

comfort-focused footwear.

Throughout the fi rm’s two-and-a-

half decades, Barrett said innovation

and sustainability have been two

pillars of his strategy, illustrated

by OrthoLite’s decision in 2008

to manufacture its own material

formulations and by its move

at the start to incorporate recycled

rubber in its products.

This month, the company took

a major next step on both fronts

by launching Cirql, an eco-friendly

midsole foam that the company says

is biodegradable, recyclable and

industrially compostable. “Cirql is the

world’s fi rst true soil-to-soil solution

for footwear,” said Barrett during a

press conference this month.

The foam — which will be

manufactured in the company’s

new Cirql factory in Ho Chi

Minh City, Vietnam — is made

from a biopolymer that has never

been used before in footwear.

According to Rob Falken, VP of

innovation at OrthoLite, it is

“made from responsibly sourced,

GMO-free plants and other

biodegradable materials, which is

then formed in a chemical-free, zero-

waste process with no curing.”

He added that unlike traditional

EVA foams, which contain 10 to

15 ingredients, Cirql is a “mono

material” foam with a single

bio-based ingredient. “EVA foams

have very little, if any, option for

end-of-life for several reasons, but

chiefl y among them is because they

are chemically cross-linked during

their manufacture, and those many

ingredients cannot be separated once

foam,” said Falken.

By contrast, he explained,

Cirql foam can be ground up and

recycled to make new midsoles

without any degradation to the

quality of the material.

Andy Polk, SVP at the Footwear

Distributors and Retailers

Association, said the need for

such innovation is paramount. He

estimates that 427.5 million pairs

of shoes are thrown into landfi lls

each year. “Those shoes are full of

plastics and materials that don’t

really degrade and cause greater

environmental harm for decades

to centuries. If we can start to use

materials that can safely degrade

and create a net positive for the

environment — that is a huge win

for our industry, consumers and

the Earth,” said Polk.

He added, “If [OrthoLite’s foam]

can be reused indefi nitely with the

same performance, that is mind-

blowing — that is getting us to

actual circularity.”

According to OrthoLite, its

technology can be used to create

midsoles for any type of footwear.

The company hopes to begin

collaborating now with brands and

tier-1 factories with the goal to start

product development in 2023.

Matt Smith, GM and VP of Cirql,

who will lead the new division out of

Vietnam, said the facility currently

has the capacity to produce 150,000

pairs of midsoles per month, or 1.8

million pairs per year. “We have

room to scale up capacity on-site,”

he added. “And the partners that

build our machinery have capacity to

produce enough machines to reach

an additional 20 million-plus pairs

within a year.”

During his presentation, Barrett

noted that partners have been asking

for years why OrthoLite — with all its

expertise in foam for insoles — didn’t

make midsoles or other cushioning

components. “If we were going

to introduce our fi rst midsole foam,

we were going to do it right,” he

said. “OrthoLite Cirql delivers on our

impeccable standards for comfort,

performance and sustainability.

And by focusing on an end-of-life

solution, it brings a truly sustainable

footwear future within reach.”

C A S E S T U D YL I S T

OrthoLite aims to solve the footwear industry’s big waste problem with its fi rst midsole technology. By Jennie Bell

BACK TO THE EARTH

CASESTUDY

FDRA estimates 427.5 million pairs

of shoes go into landfi lls each year

Glenn Barrett

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5 Q S L I S T

The director of product and energy at K-Swiss breaks down the brand’s collab push for this year. By Peter Verry

FIVE QS08

SCOTT BOULTON01 What is the K-Swiss collaboration strategy for 2022?“K-Swiss has been a sleeping giant for so long. The strategy is to educate the consumer. Collabs are key for brand elevation and reaching our target consumer. Brand collaborations utilizing key partners will help us engage and connect through the clean executions of our products. That will build our trend equity.”

02 What would mark success in the greater sneaker landscape this year?“Becoming more visible in that top-tier distribution. That is my goal because whilst dropping collaborations, I also want to have a presence 365 days a year. Collabs are in and they’re out, they educate the consumers, but then underpinning that is a true top-tier collection that these stores can hold from K-Swiss 365 days a year.”

03 What gives you confi dence that today’s sneaker consumer — who buys from a small group of major brands — will buy K-Swiss?“I believe we have some true iconic models — not just one, we have a plethora of models, which we can bring out and we can have a full rollout program. That will then cascade down to the mass market. We’re moving into a world that is more personalization, customization, and the consumer is starting now to look outside

of the big brands. They want something di� erent, they want something unique. That’s why customization, personalization is becoming such a big part of not just sneaker culture, but also of the fashion landscape. As consumers look outside of the big brands, K-Swiss will be a true heritage viable option for that for that consumer.”

04 Where do you have the strongest following today?“Currently, it would be on the West Coast. K-Swiss is a California classic brand since 1966, and now we’re starting to look back but look forward. We really need to start to build our trend equity again. That’s my goal, to start to build [that] across the globe. Currently, our hotbeds would be L.A. because it’s our backyard, but we’ve also got touch points in Chicago, New York and Miami.”

05 What markets are you targeting this year?“We’ll be targeting three macro markets. One will be New York, one will be Chicago because we will return to Leaders 1354 again at the back end of the year, and also Stadium Goods. And then we’ll look to bolster with some more localized collabs in the L.A. area.”

K-Swiss’ fi rst collab of 2022

was with retailer Leaders 1354

Our corporate donors generously support our mission

to ensure we can continue taking care of our industry.

THANK YOU

FN SPEAD SINGLE TEMPLATE.indd 1 3/10/22 4:54 PM

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56

The fi rst home of Stadium Goods is

now a bit larger.

Since 2015, Stadium Goods has

maintained a presence in New York

City’s SoHo neighborhood, occupying

space at 47 Howard St. Last month,

it opened the doors of its renovated

storefront, which includes a new en-

trance at 305 Canal St., allowing for

a continuous fl ow of consumer traffi c

from street to street. (When Stadium

Goods debuted, the 305 Canal en-

trance was home to its market center

for sellers. That moved to 307 Canal

two years ago.)

Its SoHo store now encompasses

2,860 square feet of retail space.

The expansion of Stadium Goods

— which has quickly become a des-

tination for many hard-core sneaker

fans to secure coveted styles — comes

amid a boom in the sneaker resale

business, which Cowen forecast

could be $30 billion market by 2030.

“Providing sneaker and streetwear

consumers with a luxury retail

shopping experience was one of the

foundational principles of Stadium

Goods, and this is an opportunity to

expand on that,” Stadium Goods VP

of retail and geographic expansion

Phung Truong told FN.

He added that the store’s of-

fering has expanded signifi cantly

since 2015. “We now carry our own

in-house apparel brand, Stadium,

along with other apparel brands,

collectibles and accessories — and

the expansion allows us to give those

products a merchandising home

built just for them,” said Truong.

In addition, the retailer is develop-

ing experiential programming for

the newly updated space to further

engage its community.

This renovation is the

second major brick-and-mortar

undertaking of Stadium Goods in

roughly two years. The company

opened in October 2020 a two-level

store in Chicago spanning more

than 6,000 square feet in the city’s

Magnifi cent Mile shopping district,

at 60 East Walton St. It also opened

an intake center at 1719 North

Damen Ave., in Chicago’s Wicker

Park neighborhood.

As for the SoHo door, new

additions with the renovation

include a 360-degree circular cash

wrap area inspired by LED screens in

arenas. The cash wrap also features

a sock bar with a colorful display to

highlight the 50-plus hues available.

Elsewhere, there are three new

museum-quality display cases to

showcase specialty items, an updated

trophy case with mirrors to offer

an expansive feel and more. The

company also sought to show the

community’s rich history with a

storefront that refl ects those

historically found on Canal Street.

What’s more, Stadium Goods will

reserve a portion of the additional

space to merchandise apparel, in-

cluding its private label Stadium.

“Apparel is an important and

expanding part of our business,”

Truong said. “We’ve always sold our

own branded apparel, and last year

we launched Stadium, a standalone

luxury line that’s been successful.

Part of the motivation for the

renovation was wanting to a place

where we could show the breadth of

our apparel offering.”

With the renovation, Stadium

Goods also debuted its new

Stadium 2 collection, a range

that includes a Varsity Letterman

Jacket, a Heavyweight Tricot Jacket,

the workwear-inspired Barn Coat,

a french terry Oversized Cardigan

and more.

“Stadium 2 is an anniversary

celebration of sorts. We debuted at

this time last year with Stadium 1, a

collection of premium, foundational

essentials that evoked luxury

fashion and our roots in sneaker

and streetwear culture. Stadium 2 is

an evolution of the concept. There’s

a new version of our now-ubiquitous

Varsity Jacket; there’s a bomber and

a number of other pieces that can

be either centerpieces or building

blocks, depending on the mood,”

Stadium Goods VP of brand creative

and head designer Greig Bennett

told FN.

R E T A I L S P O T L I G H T

As the resale market booms, New York’s popular sneaker destination ups its game.By Peter Verry

GOT THE GOODS

The 360-degree circular cash wrap area inside Stadium Goods in NYC that was inspired by LED screens in arenas

RETAILSPOTLIGHT

To Advertise:AMANDA SMITHasmith@fairchildfashion.com

FASHION. BEAUTY. ART. MUSIC. CULTURE. DESIGN. TRAVEL. FOOD. WITH A WEEKEND VIBE.

The Spring Fashion IssueArrives February 19

FROM THE EDITORS OF WWD

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HONORING UKRAINEThe crisis in Ukraine was at the forefront of everyone’s mind at Paris Fashion Week, but most especially at the Balenciaga runway show, where creative

director Demna Gvasalia sent models trudging through a man-made blizzard wearing his signature spandex looks, including two in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. The show came with a powerful and deeply personal message from the designer. Recalling his own experience fleeing war-torn Georgia as

a child, the designer called his show “a dedication to fearlessness, to resistance and to the victory of love and peace.”

FN IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF FAIRCHILD PUBLISHING, LLC. COPYRIGHT 2022, FAIRCHILD PUBLISHING, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A., VOLUME 78 NO 3, MARCH 14, 2022. FN (ISSN 0162-914X) is published monthly by Fairchild Publishing, LLC, which is a division of Penske Business Media, LLC. Principle Office: 475 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10017. Periodical postage paid at New York, NY and other additional mailing offices. Canadian Post: Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Cre, Rich Hill, ON L4B 4R6. Postmaster: Send address changes to FN, PO Box 6357, Harlan, IA 51593.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Sift through the noise and manifold solutions for clarity on current necessary steps in sustainability

Gain insight into scaling attainable innovations for immediate impact and value

Discover best practices for designing transparent, circular and regenerative systems

Explore and navigate next-gen materials, the ‘Fashion Act,’ a sustainable metaverse and more

Learn ways to improve consumer trust though bullet-proof standards

Leave prepared to implement or further science-based (and industry aligned) performance metrics

SPONSORSHIP INQUIRIES:Amanda Smith asmith@fairchildfashion.com

ATTENDEE INFORMATION:Lauren Simeone lsimeone@fairchildfashion.com

TUESDAY, APRIL 12 CONVENE | 1 LIBERTY PLAZA, NEW YORK CITY

Explore and navigate next-gen materials, the ‘Fashion

Learn ways to improve consumer trust though bullet-

Leave prepared to implement or further science-based

SPONSORSHIP INQUIRIES:

asmith@fairchildfashion.com

ATTENDEE INFORMATION:Lauren Simeone lsimeone@fairchildfashion.com

SCAN TO REGISTER

Scaling SolutionsThe Innovator’s Agenda

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