Only two weeks after the cult French sneaker brand Salomon opened its largest store in New York City, it’s making another big retail move: It’s launching at Foot Locker.
On Wednesday, Salomon officially launched in Foot Locker stores and online. Foot Locker representatives called the launch one of the retailer’s “most exciting brand partnership moments of the year.”
Going beyond just stocking the shoes on its shelves, Foot Locker will host a number of marketing activations in tandem with Salomon, starting with setting up an August 1 farmers’-market-inspired outdoor pop-up selling the collection outside the Foot Locker store on 20th Street in New York City. After that, the two companies will take the farmers’ market concept on the road, bringing it to other Foot Locker locations in key markets like Los Angeles and Miami.
Michelle Wang, svp and chief merchant at Foot Locker and Kids Foot Locker, said the choice to work with Salomon is part of Foot Locker’s overall strategy of staying tapped into the buzziest brands on the market. Salomon has been on a growth trajectory, seeing a 35% revenue increase last year and surpassing $2 billion in annual sales.
“We’re always trying to keep a pulse on what’s happening in retail,” Wang said. “Salomon has really engaged with North America. You can see it with what they’re doing in their DTC strategy. As we watched them and the work they were doing, igniting the brand with collaborations while staying true to their identity, it just felt like the right time to launch together.”
Wang said the Foot Locker customer is “opening their closet,” no longer devoted solely to the same select few brands and far more willing to take a chance on a wide variety of products. Salomon, as a fast-growing sneaker brand outside the dominant players like Nike and Adidas, is a good example of the kind of variety that Foot Locker is trying to develop. Wang said activations like the farmers’ market are a way to deepen those relationships with brands that are new to the Foot Locker portfolio.
The Salomon assortment coming to Foot Locker is also diverse in price points, with three shoes ranging from $145-$200 headlining the collection.
Salomon, a nearly 80-year-old brand, has been steadily increasing its presence in the U.S. in recent years. With the recent opening of its flagship store in New York, it now has six stores across the country. That number could increase to up to 15 by the end of next year. In a written statement, Laura Stauth, svp of wholesale at Salomon, called the partnership a “defining moment for Salomon in the U.S. marketplace” and said Foot Locker is key to bringing the brand’s American growth strategy to life.
But the partnership is also an important moment for Foot Locker. After seeing slowing sales, the company was acquired by Dick’s Sporting Goods in September. Dick’s most recent quarterly earnings report, in May, showed that Foot Locker had returned to profitability and to store sales growth under new ownership. Sales in Foot Locker’s U.S. stores were up over 6%.
One way that Foot Locker is looking to stay on top of that growth is by tapping into a high-fashion audience. Salomon already has European fashion credentials, thanks to frequent collaborations with brands like Maison Margiela. In addition, it counts fans including fashion icon Rihanna, who wore the brand for her Super Bowl Performance, and designer Rei Kawakubo. Wang said Foot Locker is keeping close tabs on the sneaker and streetwear trends emerging from the fashion months. At the last New York Fashion Week, Foot Locker and Nike co-hosted an event dedicated to the high-fashion legacy of the Nike Air Max.
“Paris Fashion Week has become a really big sneaker market, for example,” Wang said. “The amount of footwear ending up on the runway is significant. There’s a lot of inspiration coming in from the high end.”
