Sports Insight Extra

After swimming with the ‘Sharks’ on ABC-TV and striking a deal with Daymond John to help grow a fledgling beef jerky business, Miami’s Jordan Barrocas has pivoted over the last seven years to become a full-fledged, albeit younger, ‘Shoe Dog’ with his new If/Then men’s athleisure brand.

In the latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast, footwear industry veteran Michael Rich discusses PSUDO, the sneaker brand he started with his wife, Kortney, in 2020 and its latest partnership with Blumaka’s solar-powered factory in El Salvador.

In the latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast, Dr. Dan Feeney discusses the principal focus of the BOA Performance Fit Lab, its relationship with Aetrex and what might be ahead for BOA technology and fit.

In the latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast, we talk with Jan Deding, CEO and president of IMBOX Protection, North America about how the company’s in-store shoe protection system works and about its pending launch in the U.S.

The latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast features a discussion with Netvirta CEO and co-founder Jeff Chen about 3-D body and foot scanning and how the technology can improve not only the fitting process for consumers, but also the return rates for vendors and retailers.

The latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast features a conversation about virtual shopping, VR technology and the metaverse with Olga Dogadkina, co-founder and CEO of London-based Emperia. The company develops immersive virtual experiences for the retail, fashion and art sectors. Luxury brands have adopted the VR experience to help keep their consumers engaged. More mainstream brands could be next with VR.

The latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast features a discussion with the CEO and founder of TrusTrace, a Swedish and Indian company, founded in 2006, that is all about sustainability. TrusTrace considers itself “a one-stop shop” for firms that want to make sustainability part of their DNA. Adidas, which signed on in 2020, is one TrusTrace’s 40+ customers.

Cold is at the core of everything Baffin does and produces. In the latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast, Mark Hubner, Senior Vice President of Brand and Strategy for Baffin, discusses the Canadian company’s heritage, commitment to domestic manufacturing and its second-year Canadian collection of products.

In the latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast, Alex Fernando Klein Engelmann, Intl. Business Manager for Pegada Shoes, and Letícia Sperb Masselli, manager of the Brazilian Footwear Project for Abicalcados, discuss the Brazilian footwear industry and how it hopes to make inroads in the North American market.

In the latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast, Bob Gatta, CEO of Data Display Systems, details the purpose and usefulness of retail content management systems and how retailers, larger or small, can benefit from them.

In the latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast, Frank Fox, co-founder of Sustainable Composites, discusses the science and engineering used to develop the company’s material from recycled leather scraps and how it changes the environmental landscape for leather products.

In the latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast, Rob Gregg, founder and CEO of Gales Inc., the San Diego-based Smart PPE Footwear firm, discusses how and why he pivoted from a luxury shoe business to domestically produced footwear protection for healthcare workers. The brand, Gales, is named after the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale.

In this week’s Footwear Insight Extra podcast, Sam Garzon, founder of soccer footwear brand UNOZERO, describes how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the soccer specialty market and how his young, premium brand is surviving.

In this week’s Footwear Insight Extra podcast, John Eades talks about the iconic sandal brand and some of its creation and sustainability strategies going forward.

In this week’s Footwear Insight Extra podcast, Terry Schalow, executive director of the Running Industry Association discusses the running industry’s health, challenges and resilience.

In the latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast, Harmony783 co-founder Sharon Whiteley discusses the “grounding” and “earthing” concepts focused on by the young, stylish footwear brand. Grounding aims to reconnect people with the Earth’s natural energy and enables them to optimize their health and wellness by wearing shoes.

In the latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast, Sophie Howe, CEO and Co-founder of Xesto, discusses the advanced computer vision AI start-up that built a 3-D sizing tool for footwear that uses an iPhone camera. Shortly, Xesto intends to launch a direct-from-website extension of the Xesto Fit experience that will enable consumers to size themselves as they shop for shoes.

In the latest Footwear Insight Extra podcast, a trio of attorneys from Knobbe Martens—Susan Natland, Jonathan Hyman and Robb Roby—discuss counterfeiting and intellectual property theft issues related to footwear and soft goods, including possible remedies for small companies looking to protect themselves and U.S. legislation on the horizon.

Third Mind Founder and footwear industry veteran Steve Hamel discusses the Los Angeles-based footwear brand he started and its focus on sustainability.

Barry McGeough, the industry vet recently named VP of Advanced Concepts and Innovation at Rockford, MI-based Wolverine Worldwide, discusses his mission to bring new technologies, materials and other advancements to the company’s portfolio of 12 footwear brands. He also addresses how the COVID-19 pandemic is acting as an accelerant in advancing the adoption of many emerging trends.