Glasses on the run Newsletter #22

Hi,

Here is the regular Glasses on the run newsletter. I hope you enjoy it.

What was interesting in the business of running

Puma is opening its supply chain and sustainability strategy to scrutiny from four Gen Z representatives. As quoted in the Vogue Business article, Puma's chief sourcing officer says:

We want to open a dialogue with the next generation, to explain the complexity of sustainability and collaborate on progress, but also to listen to their fears and expectations

It's apparently for a one-year period, after which new representatives will be selected to continue the initiative. As a reference point, Puma already provides quite comprehensive information on its sustainability efforts as part of its annual reports.

Moving on to Hoka - the NY Times has an article on how it became so popular. Hoka has definitely become a mainstream brand. It would be interesting to find out what the primary reason for purchasing Hoka shoes is. I imagine the top three  reasons would be something like: they are top running shoes; they are comfortable for walking for people who have had injuries or spend a lot of time on their feet; trey are fashionable and trendy.

Talking of tredniness, as mentioned last time, Saucony is celebrating its 125 anniversary. And as a proof that it seeks to go beyond the core performance running market, it ran a marketing campaign for the DXN Trainer in Milan. While the DXN shoe was a running shoe used by Rod Dixon in the 80's, it definitely falls into the lifestyle category today.

Brooks in the meantime is investing $10 million over the next five years to help young runners in the US stay active and run more. That is very much in line with Brooks's approach so far. Earlier this year it announced that it is expanding its partnership with Parkrun in the US, Germany and the Netherlands.

And finally, as announced earlier in the year, Google shut down Fitbit's social features and apparently longtime Fitbit users were not happy about it. That is part of the long-running disintegration of the Fitbit product line and the integration of some of its parts within the Google portfolio and brand.

As always, your feedback is very welcome.

Thank you for reading,

Momchil