Spalding's Point Forward athletic shoe
SPALDING ATHLETIC SHOES
Balls, Backboards and Now Shoes
There’s a new shoe on the court.
Spalding, maker of basketball equipment such as backboards and balls is launching a new athletic shoe collection, which will bow next year.
The move to capture a piece of the estimated $13.8 billion athletic shoe market ($75 billion globally), will put the company on track to “become a total solution for the basketball category.”
Spalding basketballs and backboards are found on the courts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Pro basketball player Mario Chalmers is already on board to endorse the new shoes.
The new footwear collection will feature D30 Pulse Technology, a propriety shock-absorbing design which “cushions and responds to a player's every move.” Spalding’s “Point Forward” performance shoe has a double wings design inspired by a footwear design from the Spalding archives. The shoes, which will be in stores for Fall 2014, will be retail priced between $80-$120.
Spalding, which is a division of Bowling Green, Ken.–based Russell Brands LLC, hired a pair of footwear veterans to launch the new line. Vice President of Spalding Footwear David Zumbach has held executive positions at Johnston and Murphy, Dockers Footwear, Nautica footwear, Reebok, Rockport and Nike. Spalding's Vice President of marketing for footwear Steve Sunderland has worked at Ellesse, Kangaroos, Cross Creek Apparel, Reebok and Converse, where was vice president of sports marketing.
