Jeff Dengate the Editor and Chief at Runner’s World posted on twitter today “If you think the Alpha Fly is wild just wait till you see some of the bananas new footwear on the horizon”
This is when we are reminded that running shoes are a business. Athletic shoes are in decline. People especially young people don’t wear athletic shoes anymore. It’s a cycle like anything but this one has been long and drawn out. My son is 21. In his life he’s never worn an athletic shoe that isn’t a running shoe and he only wears them when he’s running. As soon as he’s done running his Vans or sandals go on.
There is a glimmer of hope right now that running can again be the driver of the athletic business. The Vapor Fly for all of it’s hype has done one thing really well. It’s gotten finicky young men really excited about running shoes again. The key here of course is young men. It’s like the running shoe brands forgot that young men want innovation. They were lost because minimalism was not innovation and nothing innovative really followed it.
While all of this was going on a long time shoe industry veteran said this to me “There are no innovations left in running shoes. It’s simply going to be really difficult for anyone to bring something out totally new and innovative” I don’t think his thinking was all that rare. I think he was in the majority in the industry.
Along came the Vapor Fly and as expected the flood of product will follow. Hold on to your new unboxed running shoes. They will be worth a great deal in the near future. Also, get ready because what you are running in today may very well be obsolete tomorrow.
Another way to look at this is Electric Cars. The running shoe industry follows the car industry really closely. They look at design lines and who’s buying which type of car. It tells them a great deal about how to design their next shoe. The Electric car was like the Vapor Fly. A few years back there were only a few models. Today you could say the Electric car market is going......bananas.
Dave Jewell
Free Run Speed
This is when we are reminded that running shoes are a business. Athletic shoes are in decline. People especially young people don’t wear athletic shoes anymore. It’s a cycle like anything but this one has been long and drawn out. My son is 21. In his life he’s never worn an athletic shoe that isn’t a running shoe and he only wears them when he’s running. As soon as he’s done running his Vans or sandals go on.
There is a glimmer of hope right now that running can again be the driver of the athletic business. The Vapor Fly for all of it’s hype has done one thing really well. It’s gotten finicky young men really excited about running shoes again. The key here of course is young men. It’s like the running shoe brands forgot that young men want innovation. They were lost because minimalism was not innovation and nothing innovative really followed it.
While all of this was going on a long time shoe industry veteran said this to me “There are no innovations left in running shoes. It’s simply going to be really difficult for anyone to bring something out totally new and innovative” I don’t think his thinking was all that rare. I think he was in the majority in the industry.
Along came the Vapor Fly and as expected the flood of product will follow. Hold on to your new unboxed running shoes. They will be worth a great deal in the near future. Also, get ready because what you are running in today may very well be obsolete tomorrow.
Another way to look at this is Electric Cars. The running shoe industry follows the car industry really closely. They look at design lines and who’s buying which type of car. It tells them a great deal about how to design their next shoe. The Electric car was like the Vapor Fly. A few years back there were only a few models. Today you could say the Electric car market is going......bananas.
Dave Jewell
Free Run Speed