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Foot Locker wants to reinvent itself with a dedicated app for streetwear
Whenever you think of Foot Locker, what probably comes to mind are its thousands of brick-and-mortar stores, because chances are you've visited at least one in your lifetime. But, as important as physical retail locations are to the company's business, Foot Locker is also having to quickly adapt to the new ways people are shopping for sneakers, apparel and other types of gear. That's why back in February it invested $100 million in GOAT, one of the most popular apps for buying shoes on the resale market. And now, it is creating its own incubator called Greenhouse, which has just launched an app that Foot Locker says will feature carefully curated partnerships that are going to "contribute to [its] modern resurgence."
Adidas made a Snapchat game to drop limited, 8-bit-themed baseball cleats
Adidas is teaming up with Snapchat on a unique way to launch a product. The sportswear giant has created an 8-bit game you can play in Snapchat, called Baseball's Next Level, where you'll have the chance to buy its new 8-bit-themed baseball cleats. Produced in partnership with developer AvatarLabs, Baseball's Next Level is a home run derby, old-school style title that will let you play as some of Adidas' Major League Baseball athletes. That includes Aaron Judge (Yankees), Carlos Correa (Astros), Alex Bregman (Astros), Justin Turner (Dodgers) and Kiké Hernandez (Dodgers), all of whom have their own Adizero or Icon V cleats in the Adidas 8-bit collection, which you can buy directly from the game.
Adidas’ workout headphones sound almost as stylish as they look
I'll admit that when I saw Adidas' latest headphones, I expected them to be stylish but unsatisfying, the brand covering for any flaws in the hardware itself. And then I spent five minutes wearing a pair of the RPT-01 on-ear wireless headphones while flicking through my own Spotify selection. I went from hardened cynic to wondering if I can somehow tactically break my current pair to justify an upgrade. Plus, I've suddenly gotten an urge to throw out all of my shoes and buy five pairs of Primeknit sneakers.
Adidas' latest workout headphones have knitted bands and ear cushions
Adidas has unveiled its latest headphone models designed for those who like to work up a sweat. The $149 FWD-01 is a wireless in-ear set targeted towards runners. There are in-line controls on the knitted cord connecting the two earpieces and a "passive transparency" feature Adidas says will help you hear what's going on around you.
Adidas signs Ninja to its first pro gamer deal
Popular gaming streamer Tyler Blevins, better known as Ninja, has secured yet another brand deal. And this one may be the biggest one of them all. Ninja has just revealed a partnership with Adidas, making him the first pro gamer ever to be signed by the brand. The German sportswear giant told Engadget that the deal with Ninja is intended to show its commitment to gaming culture and "supporting creators who show dedication to excelling in their field." Moving forward, Adidas said, it will continue to find new ways to support the 2.3 billion gamers across the world. The company added that, ultimately, it is here to help athletes make a difference in their game -- no matter what games they're playing.
Twitter and Adidas are bringing back their high school football series
Friday Night Stripes, the livestreaming series of high school football games on Twitter, is coming back for a second season later this month. The show, which was created by Adidas, Intersport and Twitter, debuted in 2018 and focused on broadcasting eight football games from high schools across the US. And it turned out to be quite a success. According to Twitter, Friday Night Stripes generated more than 32.6 million total views and had over 15.6 million live viewers tuning into the series, which are great figures for what was essentially a social media experiment.
The sneakers inspired by Apollo 11 and the Moon landing
NASA's Apollo 11 has had an outsize influence on our culture since July 20th, 1969. That's the day the spaceflight mission successfully completed its lunar landing, paving the way for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to become the first humans to ever set foot on the Moon. To this day, Apollo 11 remains one of the biggest achievements in the history of space exploration. It's only fitting, then, that those first steps Armstrong and Aldrin took have also made their mark on sneaker culture. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 this week, we're showing you some of the best shoes that have drawn inspiration from the mission and its Moon landing. Brands such as Adidas, Nike, New Balance and Vans have all created designs paying homage to this historical feat, in official and unofficial ways. While there are sneakers that NASA has collaborated on, others simply look like they were meant to be Moon boots. Let's take a look and appreciate them one by one.
The tech elite athletes use
When a field of 127 runners lined up in Central Park on September 13, 1970, to run the first New York City Marathon, the only gadgets, per se, that could help them were a smattering of watches. A grainy finisher photo shows winner Gary Muhrcke breaking the tape with a watch band on his left wrist. Both of his hands are throwing peace signs. The only equipment required then was a pair of shoes, short shorts and enough grit to run 26.2 miles without collapsing. Today, running without a GPS watch is as much a protest against screen time and the intrusion of tech as it is a tactical racing decision. Some of us, meanwhile, can't imagine running without headphones. Then there's all the self-care. Vibrating muscle relaxers help athletes recover. Sport-centric social networks, like Strava, help us bask in our best workouts. Meditation apps help us calm down before bed while calorie counting apps track our macros. Even the most basic of fitness devices capture heart-rate data; on running watches, it will soon be standard. Speaking of sports watches, we have an entire buying guide for that, which we recently published as part of this outdoor gear series. But we were also curious about what it means to be better, faster, stronger when money is no object. We asked five elite runners, all of whom are flush with sponsorship deals and prize money, on what they use to train and how they protect their most important piece of equipment: their bodies. A couple of items on this list were universally recommended, namely the Hyperice Volt ($349) massage-ball gun (as I'm describing it) and NormaTec's compression boots ($1,295), both muscle-recovery tools. And, of course, plenty were eager to tout the wares of their sponsor partners. Here's what they're using.
Adidas made a running shoe that's fully recyclable
As part of its recent pledge to only use recycled plastics by 2024, Adidas has revealed a new running shoe that is made from 100 percent recyclable materials. The Futurecraft Loop was designed using nothing but thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a plastic material that dons the entire sneaker, including the tongue, laces, upper and the midsole with Boost cushioning technology. Adidas says it has been working on this project for the past six years, and the goal with it is to do its part in generating less plastic waste.
Instagram will let you buy products without leaving the app
Instagram is moving a little deeper into commerce by allowing you to buy goods without leaving the app. The checkout feature will at first be a closed beta in the US with more than 20 brands involved, including Adidas, Nike, Zara, Kylie Cosmetics, Uniqlo, Burberry, H&M, Mac, Prada and Michael Kors. More brands will join in the coming months.
Snapchat is in the middle of an identity crisis
There was a time a year or so ago when, if a friend wanted to send me a meme or a funny selfie, it would be on Snapchat. But I don't remember the last time that happened; at some point Instagram became our go-to messaging app. And apparently I'm not alone: Snapchat lost as many as 3 million daily users in 2018. Meanwhile, Instagram has grown so fast over the past two years that its Stories feature alone is much bigger than Snapchat, with more than 500 million daily users. This has arguably come at Snapchat's expense. But it's not as if Snap isn't looking to turn things around. The company wants to reinvent itself by trying a bunch of different things, like augmented reality shopping, being more open and teaming up with brands such as Nike on AR workshops.
You can try on the latest Adidas sneaker drop on Snapchat
Adidas is dropping its all new Ultraboost 19 running shoes later this week, but you won't have to wait in line to get a look at them. The company is partnering with Snapchat to offer an augmented reality-powered preview. Sneakerheads will be able to use the Snapchat lens to see exactly how the shoes will look laced up on their feet before they are officially available on December 15th.
Adidas is using augmented reality to sell limited-edition sneakers
It's never been easy to buy limited-edition sneakers, especially for consumers who may not have the same resources as a reseller. This can be anything from automated scripts (aka bots), to an army of people waiting in line outside a store ready to take all the stock. That's why brands such as Nike and Adidas are using technology to try to even the playing field for everyone, be it through random launches on an app or by using experiences based around emerging mediums like augmented reality. On November 3rd and 4th, at ComplexCon in Long Beach, California, Adidas Originals will debut a new AR feature that's going to let attendees buy some of the hottest shoes of the year -- including its Dragon Ball Z collaboration.
Sneaker Con bets NFC will keep fakes off its new shoe-selling app
Buying limited-edition sneakers, like Kanye West's Yeezys, isn't easy. Whether they drop on a site, in an app or a brick-and-mortar store, they often sell out in minutes, sometimes seconds. This sense of scarcity is what's behind the growth of secondhand online sellers such as StockX and GOAT, where you can find basically any hyped shoe that's ever been released by Adidas or Nike... for a premium, of course. What makes these sites popular is that they guarantee authenticity. With StockX, for instance, any pair you get from it comes with a QR code verification tag, but that's only for internal use. GOAT, meanwhile, sends you a letter saying the shoes have been authenticated. But these are decidedly low-tech and not particularly transparent solutions. Sneaker Con, a company that hosts conventions for sneakerheads all over the world, is hoping to add a 21st-century twist to the authentication game.
Adidas pledges to only use recycled plastics by 2024
Adidas is planning to expand its use of recycled plastics well beyond its flagship shoes. The sportswear maker has promised to only use recycled polyester in its shoes and clothing by 2024. While the company's Eric Liedtke didn't provide a detailed roadmap in a chat with the Financial Times, he characterized it as a transition that will see Adidas take "right-sized bites" out of its budget to make the switch without hurting its profit margins. It's no mean feat -- about half of Adidas' material is polyester right now, Liedtke said, so an "overnight" changeover isn't in the cards.
Adidas brings Yeezy reservations to its main app
Since 2015, Adidas has been letting customers reserve highly coveted sneakers (like Kanye West's Yeezys) through its Confirmed app. But that's about to change in the coming weeks. According to a message the company is displaying in Confirmed, the application's features will soon move into the main Adidas app, which was launched in November of last year. Back then, Joseph Godsey, head of digital brand commerce at Adidas, told Engadget that limited-edition drops could be coming to the Adidas app down the road. And, well, it looks like that's finally about to happen.
The Decode app spots fakes with NFC
The global trade of counterfeit goods reportedly rakes in half a trillion dollars per year, which isn't good for anyone. (Except for the counterfeiters themselves, I suppose.) As the fakes industry continues to grow, brands are looking to technologies like RFID (radio-frequency identification) and NFC (near-field communication) to help authenticate their products. This is where Blue Bite, a startup based out of New York City, hopes to come in. It has developed a system that relies on an iOS app, called Decode, that can tell consumers if an item is real by simply tapping their phone on it.
Adidas warns US customers about a possible data breach
Adidas announced this week that its systems might have suffered a data breach and that millions of customers' data could have been exposed. The company became aware of the issue on Tuesday and on Thursday, it reported that "an authorized party claims to have acquired limited data associated with certain Adidas consumers." Those potentially affected are believed to be customers who made purchases on Adidas' US website. Contact information, usernames and encrypted passwords might have been exposed, according to the company's preliminary investigation, but as of now, credit card and fitness information aren't thought to be included in any stolen data.
Adidas' NYC-inspired shoe was designed using data from runners
When I woke up this morning, I didn't imagine I'd spend part of my day inside a massive shipping container on a parking lot right under the Brooklyn Bridge. But that's exactly what happened earlier today. The occasion? Adidas invited members of the media to an event where it showcased its latest running shoe, the AM4NYC, a New York City-inspired silhouette that was designed using sensor data and feedback from local runners. Not just that, but the sneaker was actually made at the company's robot-staffed Speedfactory in Atlanta, an automated assembly line that combines craftsmanship with speed to create custom footwear.
Fitbit's Adidas-branded smartwatch will cost you $330
Last year, Fitbit announced it had entered a multiyear deal with Adidas -- a partnership that would result in a new edition of the Fitbit Ionic and exclusive personal training programs to go along with it. Today, the company announces that the product of that collaboration is now available for presale. The Fitbit Ionic: Adidas edition is a running-focused smartwatch that comes with a breathable sport band, an Adidas-designed clock face inspired by race bibs and the Adidas Train app, which includes six workouts aimed at improving your running performance.
