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Puma: 'Less is more with Faas'
Footwear and apparel brand claims new Faas running shoe range reverses trend in the market for increasingly technical products
Puma said its new Faas range of running shoes has reversed the trend in the market for increasingly technical products by focusing on a few core areas.
The Faas collection has been designed to give runners a naturally responsive ride, according to Puma, and includes BioRide, Puma’s new biomechanical design technology.
BioRide consists of three components designed to enhance the running experience for wearers: rocker, flex and groove.
The midsole is designed with a rocker shape and no flat spots to allow a better heel strike and toe off, flex grooves in the sidewalls allow the shoe to flex where it biomechanically makes sense and a groove running the entire lateral side of the shoe allows improved transition from the heel to the toe.
Faas shoes will carry a number from 100 to 1,000, defining how the shoe performs, While Faas 500 is an everyday neutral shoe, the Faas 300 has less cushioning and structure for lighter, faster paced runners, according to Puma.
The Faas range was launched at last year’s New York Marathon, where Philipp Hahm, Puma’s head of running footwear, said the company was ‘blown away’ by the response from people who tried Faas shoes.
Said Hahm: “We heard over and over from specialist shoe stores that products are too technical. We listened to what the market wanted and took this desire on board when designing the Faas collection.”
Hahm said it is this move to a more simplistic approach to running shoe design that puts Puma and Faas ahead of the curve.
“The general industry view is that the more technical, the better the product. Two years ago we had the opportunity to focus on building something new; the best running shoe we could.
“By taking the view that less is more, we were able to move away from concentrating on getting many different technologies into the shoes and spend more time on the materials and geometries of running.
“It takes guts to take that step and go in a different direction to the rest of the market.”
