Foot Locker’s go-forward strategy will be tied to more creative projects with key partners and smaller, secondary players such as Vans, K-Swiss, Fila, Puma and Reebok. Foot Locker reports that its focus on less promotional selling, and a beefed-up digital presence, is about “further strengthening its emotional connection with consumers.”

New partnership endeavors by Foot Locker include “House of Hoops Courtside,” a mobile pop-up shop that will sell exclusive footwear launches from Nike, Brand Jordan and Converse; an augmented reality initiative called The Hunt within the Foot Locker app to help unlock a purchase opportunity for limited-edition sneakers; the Adidas Never Made collection that continues with launches in Q4; and ASICS’ East Meets West exclusive concept. Additionally, Foot Locker has teamed with Brand Jordan to open a new Jumpman store in a 25,000-sq. ft. former 1920s theater in Los Angeles. The space includes a footwear and apparel customization bar, a rooftop basketball court with fan seating and a training lab for personal training sessions.

Following up on the opening of a Power Store in Hong Kong that includes Xbox gaming stations and a barbershop, Foot Locker will debut its first U.S. Power Store on Detroit’s 8-Mile Road in Q4 with many of the same concepts found in Hong Kong, London and Liverpool Power locations.

Also In The News:

• Deckers Brands, whose brand portfolio includes the likes of UGG, Teva, Sanuk, HOKA ONE ONE and Koolaburra, recently launched an omnichannel site built by CoreMedia. The Hamburg, Germany developer will assist Deckers expand presence for each of its brands, innovate faster and deliver engaging shopping experiences for its customers worldwide. The first site to go live on the CoreMedia Content Cloud was www.ugg.com, launched in two months. Deckers and CoreMedia have a joint goal of faster content creation and updates, seamless omnichannel experiences and improved conversion rates across all regions as all brand sites go live.‍

• Skechers announced the donation of thousands of supplies to those impacted by the California Wildfires, in addition to a holiday season retail fundraising campaign. In addition to donating more than 10,000 items, including new shoes, socks, apparel, hats, totes, and gift bags filled with toys, snacks, and more, Skechers also launched a register roundup at its 100 California stores to raise money for the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund, which provides intermediate and long-term recovery support for wildfire victims.

• Wolverine Worldwide-owned Saucony has hired Don Lane, most recently SVP of brand and creative for DraftKings, as its new chief marketing officer. Lane, who previously spent more than two decades at global creative agency Arnold Worldwide, will report directly to Anne Cavassa, Saucony president.

• Last weekend brands such as Nike, Under Armour and Adidas showed off custom cleat designs on the playing fields of the National Football League as part of the NFL’s “Cleats for a Cause” campaign. With their footwear designs, players showed support for charitable organizations that focus on causes from youth wellness to sex trafficking prevention and support for single parents. Many players worked directly with Nike, Under Armour and Adidas to design their cleats. Others worked with independent designers.  

• The running industry gathered in Austin, TX last week for the 13th annual Running Event conference and trade show. More than 290 brands showcased their running products on the show floor at the Austin Convention Center. View some top TRE product picks from our editors on Instagram: Instagram.com/sportsinsightextra and look for in-depth coverage of the running market in upcoming issues of Footwear Insight magazine.

‍• Spartan Race, known for its Obstacle Course Races, is launching a trail series. The new race series, called Spartan Trail, will launch on April 14 outside of Seattle, WA. Each Trail Series race will coincide with Spartan’s OCR race weekends, bringing the festival-type atmosphere of the OCR events to the trail running community, too. Spartan Trail events will feature 10k and 21k distances with miles of rugged terrain and natural obstacles like river crossings, scrambles, log hops and technical single-track that define a traditional trail race.

• Retail chain Rack Room Shoes kicked off its annual holiday fundraising campaign by teaming up with Shoes That Fit – a charity that donates shoes to children in need – to host a special event with NASCAR drivers in its Concord, NC store. NASCAR drivers Corey LaJoie and Bubba Wallace made an in-store appearance at the retailer’s Concord Mills Mall location, to raise money and shoes for local children in need. Rack Room Shoes matched 100 percent of funds raised in store that day and LaJoie and Wallace also donated shoes to Northwest Cabarrus High School – a Shoes that Fit school that both drivers attended.