Masha Arguello

TYR Sport, Inc. is making performance running shoes. Here's my POV as a runner and running shoe designer. It's great to see a solid performance foundation (materials, fit, quality, spec.) in these products. Making shoes is hard. The "what" is the basics. But figuring out the "Why" and "How" is the hardest job of any designer. Why should this product exist (compared to competitors)? How does the brand DNA make this design unique? Why are these the right products to make? TYR can expand into running. Dialing in the answers to these "why" questions and getting beyond the basics in design is the challenge. --- I’m the owner of The Directive Collective footwear design consultancy. We make great footwear, not just great sketches. #design #footwear #footweardesign

123

5 Comments

Large outdoor apparel brands are able to exist because they're subsidized not only by the labor of some of the poorest workers on the planet, but also their ability to unload their environmental externalities onto these poor countries directly, and the rest of the world indirectly. Corporations leveraging authoritarian governments willingness to suppress their people's wages is the opposite of a free market. The crux is that they've used this non-market system to amass so much wealth and power that it is now extraordinarily difficult to compete against them in a meaningful way because they are essentially an oligopoly. Artificially cheap labor is responsible for overproduction of both raw materials and finished goods. People are, understandably, finding it hard to admit that the key to sustainability isn't in circularity or recycled materials, it's in making orders of magnitude less stuff. In order to make less stuff, the ability to produce at artificially low prices has to be removed. The solution is massive tariffs on imports from non-market economies while lowering trade barriers with democratic countries with market economies. Rebuilding US apparel manufacturing makes our country more secure and gives workers a larger piece of the pie. I'm not optimistic that this will happen willingly given the enormous amounts of money and power involved, but it will happen. We can wind down globalization in an orderly and controlled fashion (there will still be pain), or we can wait until the whole thing collapses on itself and endure maximum pain. The choice is ours. On a lighter note, thanks to Caleb Wallace for going climbing with me in the first time in forever. I forgot how much joy it can bring. Product testing our Fortis 150 product which is nylon/UHMWPE that is knit into fabric and then cut and sewn all in Los Angeles. Photo: Caleb

81

13 Comments

300-500 miles? Not only a myth, but wrong. Happy to contribute to The Wall Street Journal article about running shoe longevity. As a runner and running shoe designer, "how long do shoes last?" is one of the most frequent questions I hear. While it's been quoted forever, I've never seen research, a test method, or an industry standard that 300-500 miles life is based on. Even if it was true at one point 30 years ago shoes today are much different than those even 5 years old. New foams, new materials. There a huge range of materials, construction methods and design factors that affect longevity. The variance of runner size, weight and type and gait makes it even more complicated. Add on environmental factors, types of runs and surface conditions and I don't think any type of "across the board" lifespan rule is useful. The "twist test" in this article? Sorry, even more useless. "Does it twist" can have much more to do with materials and design (it's not twisting ever if it has a plate) than if it's worn out. I can't ever actually imagine materials breaking down so much that the physical property allows something to twist that previously didn't. Many shoes (minimal, etc.) are in fact designed to twist out of the box. PS. I've never tried the VEJA Condor 3 so can't comment on this specific shoe or claims. I was on;y asked in general about shoe design and construction. https://lnkd.in/g5nzs_Qk -- I’m the owner of The Directive Collective footwear design consultancy. We make great footwear, not just great sketches. #design #footwear #footweardesign

39

5 Comments

Did Direct-To-Consumer Kill the Nike Brand? (well at a minimum damage the brand?) Nike just released earnings. While EPS was above forecast (yes Nike has greatly reduced staff and store count in recent months), the big number... SALES.. missed expectations. (EDIT: it just got worse.... The current CEO skipped the earning call and the forecasted guidance was pulled!) During the pandemic global brands went wild with the Direct-to-Consumer format (DTC). The leaders included Peloton, Allbirds, Warby Parker, ROKA, Mirror, MiniBar, Bombas, RentTheRunway.com the list goes on & on... most of these companies have since gone OOB (out-of-business) or are shells of their former stock (some company stocks are down 95-99%). During the pandemic, Nike made a strategic decision to go DTC, forgoing long-standing partners such as Foot Locker. At first the decision appeared to be the right move as the stock spiked 50%, revenue was booming. It some became clear that sales were pulled forward and Nike leaned too much on legacy product lines without much thought into innovation. Companies such as ON-SHOES, HOKA, Brooks Running, and others grabbed market segments, innovation and retail partnerships. Nike was no longer the 'must have shoe' (all my friends are wearing ON these days TBD). Sales have been falling in a stagnant shoe sector - that is not a good combination for a business. Now Nike has a lot of 'reorganization' to do. A new CEO is being announced, Investor day will be delayed, new designers are being recruited, partnerships are being mended in the retail space. Per CNBC, CEO Donahue stated, The incoming CEO will need to power up Nike’s innovation pipeline, reset its relationships with wholesalers and improve morale after a series of layoffs and a breakdown in culture What will become of a Nike? Probably the same thing that happened to other DTC's from 2021 that are still around. Nike will reform relationships with retailers, deemphasize the company stores (flagship store was already closed in Portland), Nike and other former DTC's will add value to the department stores and end up strengthening product assortments at: Dillard's Inc., Macy's, Nordstrom's - DTC will save the departments stores! (and themselves) https://lnkd.in/g2rRP267

11

15 Comments

Ironically, Nike's Olympic ad tagline sums up John Donahoe's disappointing tenure at the Swoosh. In less than 5 years, the CEO has authored two significant layoffs, gutted employee morale & spurred Nike's stock price to plummet by over 100 points from its high of 177. Donahoe’s decision to eliminate sport categories, let go of experienced employees, over-index on direct-to-consumer sales & become reliant on consultant strategies has resulted in sluggish sales & a weakened brand. Nike’s product innovation pipeline has dried up & consumers no longer view the brand as cool. Additionally, upstart competitors like On & Hoka have gained market share. Notable female athletes such as Simone Biles, Allyson Felix, Breanna Stewart & Sloane Stephens parted ways with Nike instead of renewing their contracts. In any other company or sports team, a change in leadership would have been made long ago. Donahoe has proven he can’t WIN. Phil Knight & the Nike board have become enablers & must make a CEO change before irreparable damage is done to this once-great company. Shareholders, employees, former employees & consumers deserve better. Just Do It! #nike #lackofleadership #failedceo #justdoit #heavyhittersports

1,412

149 Comments