Tag Archives: Fitness

by | Thursday, December 7, 2023 · 7:00 am

Skim’s Now Sells Shapewear for Men

If there was any doubt that shapewear for men was becoming a growing, and competitive category, then Kim Kardashian’s Skim brand has put the issue to rest. Skims has just added men’s boxers, briefs, t-shirts, tanks, and more to its product offering.

But what is shapewear? Briefly (no pun intended), shapewear is tight-fitting underwear that controls and shapes a figure. This is a significant industry segment that is estimated by market research firm Circana to reach nearly $6 billion in the last 12 months.

The latest trend in the industry today? The hottest trend in the shapewear industry are garments designed specifically for men. Just as for women, the men’s shapewear is intended to help men look their best under clothes.

The upmarket Skims brand is seizing an opportunity to bring higher-end products to men’s wear, long comminated by mass brands selling multi-packs and discount-priced items. Skims, along with several other higher-end brands, is taking a different approach, showing men there is a different level of comfort and performance for their under garments.

Skims is using star athletes to promote the brand, including soccer stars, NBA players, and NFL players in its ads. Sports is a good place to reach men who are looking for performance wear.

Skims launched in 2019 with women’s shapewear and lingerie and is expected to have revenues of $750 million this year. Skims also stated that it started its menswear line at the request of its female shoppers.

What will you buy?

 Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Who has bought higher-end shapewear for themselves or others? Why?
  2. Discuss the stages in the product life cycle. What are the marketing objectives in each stage?
  3. Where is women’s shapewear on the PLC? Where is men’s shapewear?
  4. Show websites for men’s shapewear: Skims for Men: https://skims.com/pages/mens
  5. Spanx: https://spanx.com/collections/mens
  6. Core Wear: https://getcorewear.com/
  7. HisRoom: https://www.hisroom.com/
  8. Students may also look for additional manufacturers. What are the main marketing messages being used?
  9. Divide students into teams. Have each team draw a PLC and plot various clothing and accessories on the chart.
  10. What does it take to reposition a product on the PLC?

Source: Lieber, C. (23 October 2023). Kim Kardashian wants men to wear Skims, too. Wall Street Journal; Valinsky, J. (23 October 2023). Kim Kardashian is making Skims for men. CNN; other news sources.

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | Tuesday, November 7, 2023 · 7:00 am

Hoka – The Ugly Shoe Everyone is Buying

Consumers love something different, at least some of the time. But then other times, it is difficult to get them to switch their buying habits. On average, consumers buy the same 150 items fairly consistently. That means it is difficult for new products to get buyers to shift their buying to another product.

Think about it. What are the brands you buy regularly? Now, what might it take to get you to buy an entirely new brand and substitute it for one of your beloved products? It can be tough going to gain acceptance for new products, particularly products that look as different as Hoka shoes.

In 2012, sales of Hoka shoes were approximately $3 million. A little over a decade later, Hoka shoes sales in the past fiscal year were $1.4 billion. That’s a huge jump in sales and loyalty for a very peculiar looking athletic shoe.

Everyone who buys Hoka shoes seem to like them – runners, waiters, workers, teens, even grandparents. Why? Well, the first thing is that the shoe has to be comfortable and perform as required. Hoka shoes also come in vibrant colors and have a hefty foam sole. But still, it’s a big departure from the sleek-looking Nike shoes that dominate the market.

One of Hoka’s main strategies was to grow slowly. Yes, you read that right. Slowly. The company deliberately grew slowly by keeping supply below demand and maintaining selective distribution.

The company founders also deliberately made the shoes bigger than most athletic shoes. The shoes have been described as clown-like, bloated, bulbous, wacky, and just plain ugly. But, the shoes performed. Running stores couldn’t keep them in stock. And the company maximized on direct-to-consumer, skipping the big-box stores. When the company did move to stores such as Foot Locker and Dick’s Sporting Goods, it waited until consumers already knew about Hokas.

They may look clownish, but are you ready to run in them?

 Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: What athletic shoes do they have? What do they like? Dislike?
  2. Does anyone have Hoka shoes? Why or why not?
  3. Show Hoka Shoes website: https://www.hoka.com/en/us/
  4. Why did a slow growing strategy and limited distribution work for Hoka?
  5. Discuss competition for Hoka.
  6. What are the direct competitors? Indirect competitors?
  7. Divide students into teams. Have each team compare Hoka shoes with a competitive product.
  8. Students should also develop a positioning map for athletic shoes. Where in the map would Hoka shine versus competitors?
  9. What are the key points of difference?
  10. How should Hoka be marketing its shoes?

Source: Cohen, B. (22 June 2023). The ugly shoes now worth billions of dollars. Wall Street Journal.

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | Thursday, June 22, 2023 · 7:07 am

 100% Recyclable Running Shoes Rented By Subscription Only

We all know that the world has a growing waste problem, partly due to the age of disposable clothing and fast fashion. Apparel and sportswear companies are working to reduce emissions and decrease the products going to landfill, but is it enough? In particular, athletic shoes tend to be made from a great many complicated components, meaning that it isn’t worth it to separate the individual parts for recycling.

For college students and athletes, a big portion of their budget goes to shoes. And, a big part of their closets are likely old and used shoes that are rarely worn any more. If their closets are like ours, they probably have at least six pairs, of which five pairs are very used and dirty and ready to be thrown away.

But what if we didn’t have to enlarge the waste dump? What if we could wear our running shoes until they are worn or dirty, and then just trade it them to be recycled and receive a shiny, clean, new pair?

Sounds complicated, but Swiss sportwear company “On” has a solution. It recently launched the Cloudneo running shoe as is a recycled premium running shoe – but it can’t be purchased, only rented.

For a monthly fee of $29.99, s Cloudneo is a subscription service for not only a performance running shoe, but a fully recyclable plant-based shoe! Castor beans are used as the base, and the shoe upper is sewn from a single piece of fabric to help reduce waste. The shoe contains only nine pieces of material compared to dozens of materials in most brands. And, since dye contaminates plastic, the Cloudneo is only available in white.

On is now shipping more than a million pairs of its Cloudneo athletic shoes each month, plus has added a growing line of sports clothing. The Cloudneo was supposed to launch in 2021, but was held up by the pandemic and supply chain issues. It has also added non-subscription shoes which are sold individually, but can be recycled. On is distributed through retail partners in more than 60 countries, plus direct-to-consumer.

Run, recycle, run again.

 Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss a subscription business model. Poll students: What subscription services do they use? Other services they can name? (Ex: meal kits, shave clubs, entertainment, etc.).
  2. Poll students: How many running or athletic pairs of shoes do you own? How long do they last? How much do you spend?
  3. How many pairs of athletic shoes do they have currently? What do you do with your old shoes?
  4. Show video about the company and its process.: https://youtu.be/tCH7lqkud8w
  5. Show On Running website: https://www.on-running.com/en-us/cyclon
  6. Who is the target market? Include demographics, psychographics, behaviors, values, attitudes, etc.
  7. Divide students into teams. Have each team come up with a promotional plan for Cloudneo.

Source: Ballard, E. (7 July 2022). The 100% recyclable running shoe that’s only available by subscription. Wall Street Journal.; Danziger, P. (4 April 2023). On, the $1 billion Swiss running-shoe company, declares Cyclon its sustainability incubator. Forbes.

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,