![]() “The big sportswear brands have failed to speak to competitive runners,” Taylor says. The message? A powerful relay squad consists of strong individuals who, together, make an even mightier team. A team of runners can buy a set of four tops in a choice of patterns (including the company’s mascot: the hare) but still look like they are part of the same collection. ![]() For instance, it sells running singlets specifically designed for relays. Tracksmith creates many products like this, with details that only a runner would appreciate. “All you need to know is that the whole thing was built with the express intention of getting wet, then getting dry again, lickety-split,” reads the description of the “Run Cannonball Run” shorts on the Tracksmith website. So he set out to engineer the perfect pair for the experience: shorts made of high-tech fabric that feels soft and comfortable against the skin while also repelling water. On the company’s website, there is a beautifully shot video that shows real runners sprinting through a forest, then diving into cool green water with a big splash.Īs someone who took part in many cannonball runs in his youth, Taylor remembers how his regular shorts would get soggy in the water and how if he wore swimming trunks, they would chafe when he ran. This is exactly the kind of nostalgia that Tracksmith wants to tap into. Many competitive runners reminisce about these carefree dips in the water when they were younger: It’s part of what sets them apart as members of a particular tribe. It goes something like this: In the hottest summer months, the group will go for a run along a nature trail, then midway through, they’ll jump into a river to cool off before hitting the road again. If you ran high school or college track, chances are you’ve heard of the Run-Cannonball-Run. According to Morgan Stanley Research, this growth is expected to continue, adding an estimated $83 billion in sales by 2020. Over the last seven years, sales in the activewear category have increased 42% to $270 billion. These days, the sportswear industry is still a crowded one, but consumer demand for sneakers, workout gear, and yoga pants is also at an all-time high. Then came newcomers Reebok, Nike, New Balance, Saucony, and Brooks. Two of the oldest brands in this sector-Adidas and Puma-came into existence because of an epic rivalry between a pair of German brothers, who, in 1949, decided to split the family running shoe business into two separate entities. Going up against the giants of the industry as a small startup is not for the faint of heart, but as veterans of sportswear companies, these founders realize that the sports market has always been cutthroat. Like Tracksmith, these brands are reaching out to particular niches of athletes whose needs are not being met by the mainstream brands. In 2014, two other Reebok employees left the company to launch NoBull, which makes high-tech shoes for CrossFit training. But when you’re running a race, that’s just not true. “Our culture now has this philosophy where everyone is a winner.
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