Footwear Insight

12 • Footwear Insight ~ November/December 2017 THEFOOTWEAREYE footwearinsight.com T he Adidas brand is making strides in specialty retail in an unlikely man- ner — through its outdoor division. Adidas Outdoor has been licensed to Agron, its accessories partner, for the past seven years and is picking up steam in the trail shoe category and with the Parley line of shoes and apparel made from plastic that is re- claimed from the ocean. For Spring 2018, Adidas Outdoor will brand all of its outdoor product as Terrex, a designation that until now it had been using only on its pinnacle product. And the company will also begin use of the BOA laceless closure with a synthetic lace on two key shoes, and will also use the BOA closure on a third style starting with its Fall 2018 collection. "We've been gradually building the business and over the past year things have really begun to take off," says Greg Thomsen, who has the title of chief outdoor officer for Adidas Outdoor USA. Thomsen is a one-time climbing guide turned retailer who founded Wilderness Experience, the first outdoor company to go public. He admits that sometimes big athletic brands struggle in the discriminating outdoor and run specialty space, but says Adidas Outdoor has been earning its way with product, service and a marketing message built around a modern approach to the outdoors. Adidas Outdoor has a number of young female climbers under contract, including Sasha Digiulian, Shauna Coxsey, Mayan Gobat-Smith, Libby Sauter, Nina Williams, Chelsea Rude, Michaela Kierch and Brook and Robyn Rabautou. "These great athletes and our affiliation with climbing brought us into climb- ing gyms, which has made us more relevant with fitness overall," Thomsen says. Women's accounts for 40 percent of Adidas Outdoor sales in the U.S., up from 30 percent a year ago. Footwear is 80 percent of the overall business. The Agravic is the brand's top selling trail shoe and key outdoor stores say it is one of their top selling trail shoes behind the Hoka Challenger and Stinson. The Agravic has Boost energy return and, like many other high-performance shoes in the Adidas Outdoor line, uses Continental Rubber bike tire outsoles. Continental is a German tire company that makes tires for performance bikes and high-end cars such as Audi, BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover. "The Terrex Agravic is a perfect example of high-performance design and competitive value," Thomsen says. "They are good looking and super comfort- able with remarkable grip with their Continental soles. Once you wear them it's hard to ever think about wearing anything else." The Agravic is available in a Gore-Tex version for $165 retail and a standard version for $135. Two versions of the shoe – Terrex Agravic and the Agravic Speed – are available with a new upper that uses Adidas' "no-dye" process, new to the brand for Spring 2018. The no-dye uppers are a neutral color because the material is not dyed. Thomsen says the shoes will pick up color from the trails on which they are worn, but the real value in the no-dye process is that it saves 7.5 to 12 gallons of water per pair. The Adidas brand has not emphasized a sus- tainable or green story, perhaps because it is in conflict with its performance image. However, the company was recently cited as one of the top 10 sustainable companies in the world and the Parley collection (pronounced Par-Lay) is visible evidence of that. The collection launched last year with a boat shoe made from Parley Ocean Plastic, which is made from water bottles, fishing nets and other plastic pulled from the ocean. For Spring 2018, Adidas Outdoor has Parley apparel and for Fall will introduce waterproof breathable jackets, board shorts and a running shoe made from the Parley materials. "We are primarily focused on the specialty retailer," Thomsen tells Footwear Insight. "We understand that it is in the specialty environment that our performance and advanced technologies can best be presented. Our total commitment to customer service and support has been the founda- tion of our business and will continue to be so." O Adidas Climbs High in Specialty With Outdoor Division ON THE RISE KRENZIEN, KRENZIEN & ASSOCIATES INC. THE SPORTING GOODS PROFESSIONALS Eight decades of EXCELLENT SERVICE! Please call us regarding representation in the Midwest, Pennsylvania, Texas & Mountain States. 425 Huehl Road, Bldg. 1 Northbrook, IL 60062 P: (847) 498-0400 F: (847) 498-0449 Skype: ron.isaacskka ronisaacs@krenzien.com Adidas Terrex Two BOA, new for Spring 2018.

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