Brooks Running SVP of Footwear, Carson Caprara, introduces the new Glycerin Max and explains how leaning into innovation helps build customer brand loyalty
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00:00R&D and footwear takes a while, takes two years or more.
00:05We have to be on that signal quickly.
00:07And so we're constantly listening for that, listening for, is there something that you
00:10don't quite have you wish you had in a shoe or something you want to feel on a run?
00:14And those are our cues.
00:15Once we get one of those and it doesn't exist in a current style, we go right into innovation
00:20and start developing that.
00:21We pride ourselves in being in the wild, being out on the run, listening to what runners
00:25are saying.
00:26We're in running groups.
00:27We have a field rep team that's out in the field doing these groups together with them.
00:30Our designers get out into the market and do that.
00:33We also have platforms where we can meet with people virtually.
00:36So we can do long form type of interviews and see how they progress through the life
00:41of a shoe.
00:42And then we also do a lot of data.
00:44So pulling in data through Brooks Run Club and through wearables, we can get a lot of
00:48information on the biomechanics of the body.
00:50Every step a runner takes, we can pull that data in and understand if the shoe is doing
00:54what we intend it to do.
00:55We actually start with innovation just looking at the shape, a big sole shoe.
01:00How does that work?
01:01How do we need to sculpt the geometry and the shape of it so that it's fluid and it
01:04moves effortlessly?
01:05So we did a lot of testing early before we ever got to the shoe design.
01:09Once we're in the shoe design, we do a first round of testing with runners, about 30 or
01:1340 runners.
01:14Take those learnings and do a second round and do the same thing all over again.
01:18And so by the end of the day, we've tested this with over 100 runners, putting a lot
01:21of miles on it to get to this finished product.
01:23We have a thick stack of foam.
01:25It's called DNA-Tuned.
01:26And DNA-Tuned is great because it allows us to, the clear foam that you see on the outside
01:31is more forgiving and soft.
01:33And then on the inside, you'll see the brighter color foam is a smaller cell foam, and that
01:38is a little bit more springy and bouncy.
01:41Those two foams work together on a run to allow you to sink in but spring out.
01:45So that's our DNA-Tuned technology.
01:47And then the rocker really is about getting you through the shoe quickly.
01:49So you can land and effortlessly moves you through your midfoot and off to toe off.
01:54When you look at the thickness of this shoe and the fact that it is probably lighter than
01:58shoes of 10 years ago that were half as thick, that's true innovation and true technology.
02:03And I think the runner and the consumer is responding to that.
02:06I think runners are running longer and we're bringing new people into the sport to start
02:10running for the first time.
02:11The styling for us is really about expressing the intent of the shoe and being bold about
02:17it.
02:18And so you'll notice that on the Glister and Maxxier, everything about the shoe is plush.
02:21The material, the foam, the mesh, even our logo on the side has a plushness to it.
02:26The tongue, the sock liner, everything about the shoe, 360 degrees, is going to express
02:33ultimate luxury.
02:35And that's really what we try to do with this.
02:36And so the design really follows that intention.
02:39It's unlike anything we've ever produced.
02:40I think it's unlike anything in the market.
02:42It feels unbelievable.
02:44So it is for everyone.
02:45It's not just for the elite.
02:46It's inspired by the elite side of the sport in terms of the technology.
02:50We want to democratize that, bring it to every single person.
02:53And so this is for everybody who puts one foot in front of the other.
02:56We have incredible partners on the specialty run side where we have stores that curate
03:00the best performance running products in the world.
03:02We continue to invest there.
03:04We also are investing in sporting goods and areas where consumers can run into our product
03:09amongst shopping for other sports for their kids or for themselves.
03:12We want to be there too.
03:13And then our direct business is growing also.
03:15So being able to get access to our full line is also important to us.
03:18So I'd say the multi-channel has served us really well.
03:21And I think that the consumers are voting for that across many different platforms.
03:26We're going to have an exciting new launch of our Adrenaline, which is our most trusted
03:30support shoe that we've had in the market.
03:32That's going to be coming out at the end of this year.
03:34And let me tell you, we're just getting started.
03:36We have so much innovation coming in the next two years, new experiences, evolutions of
03:40our core franchises that I feel like we're going to be talking to you quite a bit.