Representatives from Altra, Saucony and Vibram joined Footwear News at The Running Event in San Antonio, Texas, last week to discuss the super shoe phenomenon and how these buzzy footwear models influence the wider market.
Moderated by FN senior digital news writer Ian Servantes, the panel — dubbed “Beyond the Super Shoe” — kicked off with how super shoe innovation trickles down through a brand’s entire footwear collection.
“We get great insights from our elite athletes who wear test our super shoes, and then we go and experiment with innovation to be able to trickle down to other solutions,” Jen McLaren, global brand president of Altra Running, explained. “For us, we’re really focused on bringing solutions for everyday runners. So, we start every single product brief with strong insights with the runner that we’re targeting and really understanding, how do we create a distraction-free fit.”
Fabrizio Gamberini, president and global chief brand officer at Vibram Corp., added that super shoes serve as a “lab test” to develop the best product, but that most runners are not in that niche market looking for an elite sneaker.
“I think the majority of what you see on this trade show floor is really outside of that niche market,” Gamberini said. “But super shoes are a good learning tool that brands can then use to trickle down to the ‘real’ products for everybody.”
Ted Fitzpatrick, vice president of product management and merchandising at Saucony, dubbed the storytelling around super shoes as “sexy and fun,” but behind the scenes, people would find that teams are working to find the innovative foams and technologies that are to be used across the running shoe market.
“It’s just been the last six to nine years, when everything has been focused on carbon fiber plates, super shoes and foams,” Fitzpatrick maintained. “So, super shoes have become a good proving ground for premium materials, new foams, and then finding ways to quickly adapt those and engineer them for other uses, other price points.”
And the experts are right. Much of the storytelling around super shoes comes naturally, as most of the biggest breakthroughs in running technology have come from the category since its introduction in 2016. And while the shoes’ combination of hypercritical foams and carbon fiber is primarily intended for race days, technology tends to trickle down to sneakers for every day, recovery and tempo runs — creating a ripple effect across the marketplace.
But not every runner is participating in races, and even those who do are pouring most of their energy into different types of runs.
“We know there are some runners that might only have one shoe in the closet, which is fine,” Fitzpatrick said. “We want them in our shoe. Jen wants them in her shoe. Everyone’s kind of fighting for that. But there are also runners that are looking for different experiences on different days. There are certain days where you really want to feel protected and a hug for your foot. And then there are days where you want to feel nimble and fast. So, if you want more than one, we have those solutions. Or if you’re just looking for one, there’s enough to choose from within the segment.”
As for what consumers are looking for — comfort is still king. “Comfort is a really strong position for us, and it’s what most runners are looking for,” McLaren noted. “I would just add that for our consumers, they’re really looking for that shoe that also allows better balance and better strength in your feet.”
“It’s comfort and cushioning for us, which was a bit of an eye opener,” Fitzpatrick added. “Our customer is still looking for comfort and cushioning during a marathon, not just performance. So, if you’re buying an Endorphin product from us, there’s some inherent comfort and cushioning for race day in that product, versus just stripping the shoe to be the single lightest shoe in the market.”
