Cushioning system is the secret of Saucony’s Triumph
Running shoe brand Saucony says a new, proprietary cushioning system has helped it make the latest version of its Triumph running shoe lighter in weight, better able to cope with temperature fluctuation and able to offer runners a better energy-return.
Anew version of the Triumph running shoe is part of the expanding range Saucony has put together for spring-summer 2020. The specialist running footwear brand has said the new version, Triumph 17, is 25% lighter than previous versions of the shoe, with men’s shoes weighing 305 grammes each and women’s shoes 261 grammes.
One of the key changes is a new cushioning system in the midsole called PWRRUN+. Because this is lighter in weight than the Everun system that the company used in earlier versions of the shoe, the Triumph 17 is able to deliver the weight-saving. PWRRUN+ is also more durable than classic EVA-based cushioning systems, the company claims, giving the shoe the added benefit of extra energy-return.
In the long run
A further benefit Saucony points to is that the new cushioning system is also better equipped to withstand changes in temperature. This is to say that the new system will keep working well, no matter how cold or hot the conditions. The company has pointed out that this property makes the Triumph 17 suitable for use, even on long runs that expose runners to a wide range of temperatures.
Throughout the shoe, the Triumph 17 contains a combination of materials and technologies that the brand is now offering with Formfit as the system’s name. According to Saucony, Formfit makes the shoe better able to “adapt itself to the runner’s foot”. The company says the Formfit system allows the different materials “to interact with each other in a perfectly co-ordinated way”, making the shoe more adaptable. There are three colour options in the spring-summer 2020 range: blue both for women and men, grey with hints of coral pink for women and grey with yellow hints for men.
A star brand for Wolverine
Saucony has been something of a star in the firmament of parent group Wolverine World Wide since its acquisition, as part of the larger performance and lifestyle group of Collective Brands, in 2012, although the brand’s results in 2018 were down. At that time, Wolverine said the brand had suffered the effects of “ongoing headwinds” in the specialist running shoe category in the US, although there was growth in Europe and in online sales. Wolverine chief executive, Blake Krueger, also pointed out at the time that some Saucony product had arrived late at retailers and that there had also been “a couple of quality issues”.
Mr Krueger’s admiration of the Saucony brand was never in doubt. At the time of the acquisition in 2012, the brand was preparing to celebrate its 115th anniversary and was well established and well liked among twenty-first century runners, especially in North America. Growing its popularity in other global markets was the big opportunity the group chief executive saw for Saucony and he made it clear from the outset that he saw it as a brand that would complement outdoor brand Merrell, which was already part of Wolverine. In fact, the group put both of these brands at the heart of a partnership it set up with Chinese sportswear retailer Xtep in 2019. Its aim is to grow sales both of Merrell and Saucony in the Chinese market by presenting their footwear in Xtep’s over 6,000 stores across China, that started in the second half of last year.
Innovate to renovate
In terms of product quality, Wolverine’s response to the headwinds of 2018 has been to keep innovating, as the Triumph 17’s use of PWRRUN+ and Formfit makes clear. By the third quarter of 2019, the latest for which figures are available at the time of writing, growth had returned for Saucony. Mr Krueger said that double-digit growth for the group’s biggest brands, including Saucony, was a direct result of the group’s focus on building “trend-right product that resonates with consumers”.
Consumers who have had early contact with the Triumph 17 have said the change in the midsole from previous shoes, from Everun to PWRRUN+, is immediately noticeable, describing the new system as lighter and more responsive and insisting that wearers who liked Everun will like its successor even more. Its cushioning capabilities also made the new shoe more comfortable than previous running shoes they had tried, with some suggesting a 5% increase in the new system’s ability to absorb impact. This in turn, they say, reduces fatigue.
Early users of the Triumph 17 say they like the shoe’s increased ability to absorb impact, which, in turn, reduces fatigue.
All credits: Saucony
