On Holdings, the publicly traded Swiss company is expanding its direct reach to U.S. consumers later this year through the opening of new brand stores in Williamsburg, VA, and Miami, FL.

The Japanese brand Asics, which reported its largest Q1 sales quarter ever last week, has established a turnaround plan for its North American operating unit that reported an operating loss equivalent to $2.54 million despite 24 percent revenue growth in Japanese yen to $192.2 million.

The USA operating unit of South Korea’s Fila Holdings Corp. is currently forecasting a FY23 consolidated operating loss for the region in the range of $67.3 to $82.2 million, up from a prior forecast of a $59.8 to $67.3 million loss.

Kizik, known for its hands-free shoe innovation, is opening its first-ever brick-and-mortar store. Located at the Fashion Place Mall in Murray, UT, near Salt Lake City, the retail store will be “the first of many for Kizik,"...

Dubbing the effort, ‘Protect This House 3’ or ‘PTH3’ for short, Under Armour under new CEO Stephanie Linnartz intends to focus on brand, product and the U.S. market going forward with particular attention on footwear...

The Three Stripes suffered a 20 percent, constant-currency decline in North American Q1 sales to $1.3 billion and an operating loss equivalent to $50.7 million.

Two leaders in the insole industry are teaming up. Foundation Wellness, the Ohio-based manufacturer of insoles and orthotics, announced it has acquired CURREX, a leading brand of insoles designed for athletes and active individuals.

Blanca Gonzalez, a 19-year veteran at Nike Inc., who most recently served as VP of North America Product Merchandising, is moving to Foot Locker, Inc. She will begin as SVP/GMM of WSS, the neighborhood-based retailer acquired by Foot Locker in 2021, on May 15.

Implus-owned sock brand Balega is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Going forward, the brand will continue to lean into sustainability efforts and says it plans on growing and diversifying its field teams, marketing, and product teams “to provide greater support for run specialty retail partners.”

Facing both a difficult year-over-year comparison and broad industrywide “inventory congestion,” Skechers saw an 18 percent decline in U.S. wholesale business in Q1 ended March 31.

K-Swiss is looking to make its mark in the Formula 1 world, with the launch of a product collab with McLaren Racing. K-Swiss Tubes shoes are the official 2023 team footwear for all McLaren Racing mechanics, engineers, and VIP staffing.

Hoka has launched its first ever collection of footwear for kids. The new line includes youth sizes of three popular Hoka styles, the Clifton 9, Speedgoat 5, and Ora 3 Slide.

Nike’s new Motiva shoe features rocker geometry and is made for walking, jogging and running. Specifically, the brand says, it is made for varied activities and fluctuating paces.

Overall U.S. footwear industry sales revenue was down 3% in Q1 this year versus Q1 2022, but the performance category was up 2% in that period, according to point-of-sale data from Circana (formerly IRI and The NPD Group).

Canada Goose has made changes to its executive suite, including the naming of former Wolverine executive Matt Blonder as chief digital officer with responsibility for all consumer-facing digital platforms.

A multi-year sponsorship between Dick’s Sporting Goods and the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), which commenced with the running of the 127th Boston Marathon on Monday, makes the full-line retailer the official retail sponsor of B.A.A. events.

After years of seeing web searches and spell check wrongly put a ‘t’ in the middle of the company’s name, Skechers now has one in actor and former wrestler Mr. T, who has been added to the brand’s roster of athlete and celebrity endorsers.

It appears that U.S. households with kids are pulling back on footwear spending more so than those without, as parents are forgoing footwear purchases for themselves, according to Circana (formerly IRI and The NPD Group).

Streetwear and sneaker retailer SNIPES recently launched its Pay It Forward initiative, a nationwide campaign that aims to “provide opportunities for underrepresented communities and empower the next generation of leaders by supporting education and creating a platform for important conversations.”

Efforts by brands and retailers to clear out aging inventory in the market has pushed discount penetration in the U.S. sneaker market up 9.1 percent year-to-date and up by an average of 29.5 percent over the last two quarters, according to the USA Sneaker Market Index from Centric Pricing.

Among all upper income teens, Hoka and On were ranked the fourth and fifth favorite athletic footwear brands in Piper Sandler’s semi-annual Generation Z survey of U.S. teenagers. Among all teenagers, Hoka and On were the 12th and 19th most popular athletic footwear brands.

New brand leadership appointments announced by VF Corp. include a change at the top at Altra. Todd Dalhausser, previously brand president of Altra, is moving to the position of global brand president, Dickies...

Keds, which Designer Brands recently acquired from Wolverine Worldwide, announced a brand refresh, including an updated logo in a new blue hue...

Authentic Brands Group announced it has made a binding offer to purchase global action sports and lifestyle company Boardriders.

Under Armour is strengthening its partnership with NBA superstar Stephen Curry with a new long-term deal that will extend beyond Curry’s playing days.

Six months into her tenure on the job, Foot Locker President and CEO Mary Dillon is spearheading numerous changes at the international retailer in its renewed effort to capture a larger slice of the $80 billion sneaker market and perhaps a healthy piece of the broader casual footwear market.

Retail Sales will increase by 4 to 6 percent in 2023 to between $5.13 trillion and $5.23 trillion, according to a National Retail Federation projection.

Crocs is leaning into its digital-first brand strategy, launching a new customization program for bulk orders of Classic Clogs and Jibbitz charms.

A star-studded pickleball event set to be televised on ESPN will be sponsored by K-Swiss. The Pickleball Slam will feature tennis legends John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, and Michael Chang competing for a $1 million dollar purse.

Footwear chain Shoe Carnival, which intends to surpass 400 stores this year and 500 by 2028 through a combination of organic growth and targeted store acquisitions, reported a continued customer shift to non-athletic footwear categories in Q4.

Fila USA, the operating subsidiary of Korea-based Fila Holdings Corp. will focus on lowering its inventory levels and a cost restructuring effort this year to help it build a solid foundation for growth and meeting the objectives of its five-year strategic plan.

Recovery footwear brand OOFOS announced it recently completed a growth investment round of funding led by three of its brand ambassadors — NFL quarterback Derek Carr, retired quarterback Alex Smith and University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley.

The Swoosh, perhaps irked by the recent success of smaller rivals in Hoka One One, Asics and On in the road running space, is vowing to put a renewed focus on the running category over the next 6 to 18 months.

Foot Locker’s annual investor day this week, presided over by its new President and CEO Mary Dillon for the first time, was a split decision.

After completing its first full year as a public company in 2022, the Swiss company On is aiming to achieve currency-neutral sales growth of 42 percent in FY23 to the equivalent of $1.83 billion. The key areas of focus in On’s 14th year will be running, tennis and younger consumers.

Last week, DSW parent company Designer Brands detailed its outlook for the current fiscal year by suggesting a consumer purchasing pullback that commenced last October will continue through H1 followed by a “soft landing” in the back-to-school quarter.

Mark Wachter, who founded the San Francisco-based specialty store On The Run, died on March 11. Born in 1954, he immigrated to the United States from Poland as a child with his sister and parents.

Caleres-owned retail chain Famous Footwear, which generated 22 percent sales growth in FY22 to more than $1.32 billion despite closing 21 stores year-over-year, is sharpening its focus on reaching Millennial consumers.

Bjorn Gulden, who crossed his German town from Puma SE headquarters to become CEO of Adidas on Jan. 1, isn’t afraid to offer an honest assessment of the challenges that he and his new brand face in 2023.

San Francisco-based brand Allbirds plans to slow the pace of its store openings and continue expanding its wholesale business. Other measures being undertaken as part of a transformation plan include shifting all footwear production to Vietnam by year’s end.