Sports Insight

July / August 2019

Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1154057

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 30 of 35

ONEFORALL Under Armour Do-Everything Shoe: e Under Armour HOVR Apex training shoe has stability for weightliing, along with lateral support and lockdown for more dynamic movements. Cushioning paired with forefoot flexibility makes the shoe runnable. Key Performance Features: UA HOVR cushioning in the midsole helps increase performance and lessen fatigue, and the outsole is built for underfoot stability across all types of movements. A TPU strap adds lockdown in the heel and midfoot. Magic Price Point: $140 Reebok Do-Everything Shoe: According to Tal Short, senior product manager for performance footwear and apparel, "is consumer is as diverse as their workouts: one day they're doing HIIT, the next, a spin class and following, running a 5K." e brand's HIIT Trainer, launching in November, is designed to fill that "body weight exercise and running" fitness space. Key Performance Features: "Building on insights from the HIIT community, we identified three areas of performance where a traditional running shoe lacks: grip, stability and durability," Short says. e HIIT Trainer has a grippy, flexible outsole and a support structure to keep the midfoot from sliding off the platform. A rubber toe wrap protects against the beating a HIIT class puts on a shoe. Magic Price Point: $100 Brooks Do-Everything Shoe: "People gravitate toward running shoes due to the demands of their exercise and for the cushion and support. e Ricochet ($120) provides a responsive, balanced ride that feels grounded," says Brooks footwear product line manager Sara Najjar. Key Performance Features: "When we talk to runners about what they want, it's a versatile shoe that delivers beyond the run. Stylistically, they gravitate toward a knit upper because of its aesthetic and how it provides structured support," Najjar says. Magic Price Point: "People who run and do other forms of exercise are comfortable paying a premium for performance shoes, [in the range of] $120 to $130," she says. Saucony Do-Everything Shoe: "Consumers want something light and not something extra, meaning not just the weight of the shoe, but no extra materials, layers, unwanted details — just simplify it. is is not a piece of equipment like other running shoes," says Ted Fitzpatrick, senior director of product management. Key Performance Features: Saucony is building a collection for this multifaceted consumer with the Freedom 3 and Liberty 2. e new Freedom 3 has changed up the midsole, which now features PWRRUN+ foam (a TPU bead and EVA blend) for more energy return. e Liberty 2 is supportive through the midfoot and has a lower profile for a more stable platform, offering a "more solid base going from treadmill to the ground or to weights," Fitzpatrick says. Magic Price Point: e Freedom 3, due out in February 2020, will retail for $150. e Liberty 2 is $160. Asics Do-Everything Shoe: e brand's longstanding GT-2000, which launched in 1993, is the most versatile model in the lineup, according to Paul Lang, marketplace merchandising manager: "Consumers want a shoe they know will protect and cushion on a run effort and do the same for a Barry's Bootcamp and brunch type of day." Key Performance Features: e $120 GT-2000 7 features GEL cushioning technology for shock attenuation and Dynamic DuoMax for foot support and guidance. e shoe comes in models with both a classic performance engineered mesh upper as well as more lifestyle materials that wrap the foot. Magic Price Point: Lang flagged $120 as the pricepoint consumers are comfortable with for shoes that are "fully loaded with technology, yet versatile enough for any run or class." Hoka One One Do-Everything Shoe: "e Hupana Flow retains a performance-oriented aesthetic, so athletes trust it will work, but the engineered knit upper Fitness Brands Are Chasing the Holy Grail— The Right Styled, Right Price Shoe that Works for Every Fitness Challenge. By Suzanne Blecher When it comes to fitness shoes, consumers are looking for e One. With the popularity of high intensity interval training (HIIT) fitness and combo classes — think Orange eory and cycling-and-weight workouts — "do-everything" shoes that work for runs, for liing and for the full suite of fitness activities are what shoppers are demanding. Mark Coddaire, founder of the Marx Running & Fitness shop in Acton, MA, regularly performs gait analyses at Orange eory locations and other gyms and recommends shoes to participants that will work for both their treadmill runs and their workouts. And it's a big business: He's recorded more than 6,000 consumers this year and sold enough shoes in tandem with gyms that it has helped the bottom line, he says. e shoes he likes best "address lateral strike, but are firm enough to not let you go any further." But it's not just about the performance. Brands report that consumers are expecting their shoes to work outside the gym, too, with the right look for running errands, grabbing dinner and travel. And just as critical? An accessible pricepoint. So what does that One Perfect Shoe look like? Sports Insight went to the source to ask brands how the "do- everything" phenomenon is impacting their offerings — here's what to expect. sportsinsightmag.com July/August 2019 Sports Insight • 31

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Sports Insight - July / August 2019