In 2022, Canadian footwear brand Aldo introduced Pillow Walk, a proprietary comfort technology for its shoes. Originally launched in a limited number of styles, Pillow Walk is now featured in about 75% of Aldo’s men’s and women’s shoes.
Incorporating dual-density foam, the Pillow Walk technology is designed to enhance impact absorption, rebound response, stability and support when walking, with a molded sock foam providing extra padding at the ball and heel of the foot. According to Aldo, its incorporation of higher-density polyurethane and soft memory foam eliminates the break-in period for new shoes.
Daianara Grullon Amalfitano, chief brand and product officer at Aldo, said the company saw Pillow Walk as an opportunity coming out of the pandemic, knowing consumers would still want comfort as they returned to dressing up.
In 2022, Aldo attributed 39% of its net women’s sales and 22% of net men’s sales to Pillow Walk products. By 2023, these figures rose to 66% and 39%, respectively. Amalfitano highlighted the sales trends reflect both the positive consumer response and the expansion of the range. Aldo is owned by the Aldo Group, a Canadian footwear and accessories design and manufacturing group owned by Canadian businessman Aldo Bensadoun. The Aldo Group last reported revenues of $1 billion — the company does not break out revenue by brand.
Aldo has roughly 40 designers, developers and technicians who work alongside Manojh Kanchipuram, director of product engineering and continually explore ways to enhance the comfort of Aldo’s footwear. Manojh is the in-house designated Director of Product Engineering, working with all product development and design teams internally and through some external partners to develop the technology behind the brand’s products.
“We’re focusing on aspects, like the amount of glue we use, to ensure materials are soft and comfortable,” said Amalfitano. In addition, Aldo recently conducted a study on how people’s feet have evolved and has begun integrating new fits into its designs accordingly, she said.
To market the technology, Aldo has leveraged social media and its e-commerce site. The Pillow Walk launch campaign, which kicked off in 2023, has garnered 270 million global social impressions and 116 million video views to date. The campaign featured CGI of the Pillow Walk logo floating around models and shoes. The CGI Pillow Walk logo has since been featured in several campaigns, including one for spring 2024.
“We made sure the campaign didn’t make us seem like an old-fashioned comfort brand,” she said.
In addition to its core collections, Pillow Walk has been featured in Aldo’s product collaborations, most recently in its “Barbie” collab that came out in July 2023. And celebrities including Selena Gomez, Jessica Alba and Lupita Nyong’o have worn Pillow Walk shoes, further enhancing the visibility.
Aldo has a presence in 110 countries with over 1,600 stores worldwide. Its key markets include North America and the Middle East, each with over 300 stores, plus Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
“We’re now looking to bring in more technologies with similar innovative components,” said Amalfitano. “We’ve already incorporated a [newer] technology called ‘Easy On, Easy In.'” According to the company, it has a softer back allowing users to slip on their shoes.
Footwear brands are increasingly seeing the importance of proprietary technologies. In addition to Nike’s Air technology, there’s FitFlop’s biomechanically engineered footbeds, Hoka’s performance-focused designs and On’s CloudTec cushioning. These features not only enhance the wearer’s experience but they also set new standards for footwear, driving competition and pushing the boundaries of design and performance.
Launchmetrics’ June report on Gen-Z behaviors showed that comfort-focused product categories including athleisure and sneakers are driving media impact value for brands. As proven by Aldo, they’re driving sales, too.
