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K-Swiss is expanding its expertise into running shoes, with the exceptionally light and aesthetically lovely Run One shoe as the base of the range. Mark Sheehan told SGB what makes their shoes stand out - and SGB is now a true believer...
SGB: What are the key facets of the running shoe's profile, the USPs of the shoes?
MS: Running shoes are still textiles, synthetics, EVA, rubber and then whatever cushioning end or bit component that brands want to put into the product to speak to the consumer. After that it's really just great points of difference and insight into running needs that nobody else has ever done with a miSOUL shoe.
If I were trying to talk to you and I only had a stability shoe or neutral cushioning shoe, without miSOUL the retailer discounts us right away. We weren't strong enough just with our me-too product to knock anybody good off the wall right now. But at the end of the day they're called running specialists and there have been very few things introduced to the market in the last couple of years that truly speak to being special and miSOUL is one of the most special items that has been introduced.
It took some real production insight to be able to take a percentage of the mid-sole out of the traditional mid-sole construction of a product and put that back into the bottom of a sock liner [insole] which is the cheapest part of most of our competitive brands' products. It's a throwaway item in today's marketplace and for us to be able to create a dynamic interchangeable insert, it becomes a whole new dynamic in the way running shoes are made, are constructed, and are looked at. The vision I have for miSOUL is that it creates a whole new platform for a retail setting where the person is buying just the chassis itself and then there's an after-market insert display from K-Swiss and based on the evaluation that the running specialist has been able to utilise their treadmill and their expertise to be able to discern the gait analysis of what that runner is. That's at the core level. The Q1 2009 presentation featured a speed 1.0 insert for faster pace training days and the cushion 1.0 for longer, slower volume-building days. To complement those two inserts, we have followed that up in Q3 2009 with a stability part, where we build up the medial side of the product with an additional arch support story. Uniquely, there's also an orthotic piece that would be sold separately with none of the other inserts, so that for the very first time a person with an existing orthotic can utilise this orthotic 1.0 insert from K-Swiss and put that back into the shoe and the thickness of the orthotic piece is lower than the other three inserts, therefore we're creating more space inside the shoe. And there's no shoe in the marketplace today built specifically to accommodate an existing orthotic.
We will be introducing two additional parts for Q1 in spring/ summer 2010 where we take the light 1.0 part and make that super-light, really for almost a race day application, and we take the cushioning and make that super-cushioning. So it really starts filling in the gaps in terms of what every runner would be looking to us to be able to deliver from a personal preference perspective. What you've seen so far is really just the beginning.
SGB: So what we effectively have is a shoe which is almost like a shell; for the runner's individual needs, they'll find the right inserts for them and that customises an effectively neutral shoe into what they need?
MS: Exactly. And it goes a stage further; at retail they're able to evaluate that yes, you slightly over-pronate on your right side more than your left, which is fairly common, here's the stability part from K-Swiss to accommodate that gait analysis on your right side, but you're a neutral cushioned athlete on your left side. You don't need a stability part on your left foot. Now we can customise right to left feet, nobody's ever been able to do that before.
For further information on K-Swiss miSOUL, and to view the full range of K-Swiss Running and Performance Tennis, visit the K-Swiss stand the NISTEX/Intersport Show. Or, if you wish to arrange a sales appointment then please contact:
John Freeman, Sales Manager - Performance
Mobile: 07973 225868
Office/Fax: 01494 815668
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