Footwear Insight

10 • Footwear Insight ~ March/April 2018 THE FOOTWEAR EYE T yler George got a lot o f a t t e n t i o n f o r t h e "vintage" pair of Skechers sneakers he wore on his path to a gold medal in Pyeongchang with U.S. Curling. The 35-year-old from Duluth, MN, competed in an eight- year-old pair of Urban Track sneakers from the Manhattan Beach, CA-based brand that time and his efforts on the ice left ripped and torn. (While many curlers wear sport-specific shoes, it's not uncommon for athletes to add Teflon sliding plates to standard kicks to make them usable on the ice.) The New York Times called them "revolting" in a headline, and ran an entire story quoting George's teammates on the record about how foul they found his footwear — and even sent a reporter with George to a South Korean mall to buy a new pair. (To no avail, as it happens: George wore his original pair in the gold medal match.) But while most of the world might have been shocked to see the battered kicks on the championship ice, it was all good to Skechers president Michael Greenberg. "To some, it may be surprising that Tyler George was wearing Skechers to compete in curling given we design performance running and golf shoes, not shoes meant for the ice," he says. "But our Skechers Sport shoes are comfortable and for an athlete in a challenging sport like curling, it makes sense. If you have to be on your feet, why not do it in comfort? What is surprising is that Tyler didn't come to us, as we'd love to help. That pair he was competing in is eight years old and it's time for an update. If only we had known sooner. Tyler, we're here if you need us!" — Jennifer Ernst Beaudry footwearinsight.com Skechers Goes for Gold OLYMPIC STYLE I n 1997, Karl Müller designed the MBT rocker sole. Twenty years later, Müller's newest brainchild, kyBoot (pronounced kee-boot) is making inroads in the United States. The kyBoot brand was developed in 2007 around the concept of a lightweight air cushioned sole that uses a "honeycomb" design. The company says the design creates a "cushion of air" between the foot and the ground with 20 percent of the volume of air pumped into the foot area with each step. The result, according to the brand's GM James Taylor, is a shoe that allows the foot to exercise and move naturally and helps the wearer to maintain good posture while alleviating pressure on joints and leg veins. "The shoes have therapeutic effect," says Taylor. "They will help people with plantar fasciitis, neuropathic pain and other foot and body issues." The kyBoot line includes more than 100 styles with an average price point of $400 a pair. kyBoot has several brand stores and is in 300 retail doors worldwide. Before an account carries the shoes, KyBoot arranges an online meeting with Müller, so stores can learn about the brand and make sure it's a good match. Once the account is open, new retail partners receive a two-day train- ing session led by Terry Abeles, of T Abeles, in Ridgeland, MS. "We want to make sure stores understand the product and the technol- ogy and have the service level to get customers to adapt to the shoes." kyBoot opened an American distribution facility at the end of 2014 and expects to open 10 new retail accounts this spring. O Müller's New Brand Makes its America Move KYBOOT Ascona Cirrus JFK Nyon St. Gallen

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