Hype? No, Salomon's 2024 Plans Are Fueled by Validation
Salomon's hot streak is a matter of skill. The French sportswear company is very conscious of its place atop culture's precarious edge and it's keen to keep its balance through a little luck and lot of perseverance.
That's a key part of Salomon's success, a factor that has likewise boosted the fortunes of sibling label Arc'teryx, also owned by parent company Amer Sports.
Hardy gear from both Salomon and Arc'teryx — sneakers, primarily, in the case of the former and outerwear, primarily, in the case of the latter — has garnered a fervent following among stylish young shoppers appreciative of fashionable functionality. Call it GORPcore, call it quiet outdoor, just don't call it a trend: this stuff is only ever more in demand.
But organic hype alone does not a success story make. Salomon's year-over-year growth and the effervescent youth culture demand for its running shoes is born of a trend-free consistency also epitomized by Arc'teryx.
Tastes have changed to favor these brands; not the other way around.
"The resonance our footwear is having... is a byproduct of [our core values] and great to see," Alex van Oostrum, the Global Marketing Manager of Salomon Sportstyle — Salomon's fashion-forward lifestyle line — told Highsnobiety.
These sneakers are "an opportunity to introduce Salomon to a new audience," an important stepping stone that's leveled up Salomon's entire brand identity in turn: Salomon's Sportstyle footwear is the fastest-growing part of its business.
van Oostrum contends that Salomon's red-hot running shoes internalize a "subliminal engagement with the brand, mountains, sport, and nature," which is why they're such a good symbol of the brand itself.
"Our primary objective is to remain faithful to our core values," he said. "If these products receive endorsement from a fashion audience we’re always pleased with that response."
Hence why one of Salomon's biggest mainstream promotional pushes to date, a spot that run during the 2024 Super Bowl, was as dedicated to Salomon's coveted Xt-6 sneaker as it was on the mountain trails that it ran through. Sportstyle meets, well, sport.
"Certainly on a brand level, we are very much aware of who is wearing our product, but ‘hype’ is maybe not the word we’d use," van Oostrum explained. "It’s more validation."
Though this validation is acknowledged and appreciated — and why the ad focused on the Xt-6, one of the shoes that van Oostrum describes as "a tribute to Salomon’s greatest performance features" — it's also taken as what it is: a sign that Salomon is racing down the right path.
And to continue blazing that trail, Salomon is heading offroad. The Xt-6 isn't going anywhere but it's no longer Salomon Sportstyle's primary footwear focus, at least not for 2024.
Next up is the Speedcross 3, a 2011 Salomon shoe so aggressively functional that its fashion applications were practically a dare. Back when the Speedcross 3 debuted, the only person brave enough to style technical trail shoes in a style context was Ralph Lauren.
But, again, tastes have changed. The Speedcross 3 has not.
"The Speedcross 3 has been a cornerstone of the [Cross] program and we feel now is the right time to connect a broader audience, those looking for timelessness but also the unconventional," van Oostrum said. "In the past, the style has for sure been nonconformist and remains so, but now we consider the gap between performance and individualism very much bridgeable."
Indeed, it's no longer taboo to bridge technical gear and fashion — now, it's the norm — and that's in no small part due to Salomon's sleek sneakers spearheading the movement.
The time is finally right to push Salomon's lifestyle product beyond its own comfort zone, shifting focus to a less-obvious trail runner. The Xt-6, with its hi-vis overlays and shapely sole unit, wasn't any more obvious a trendmaker in 2020 than the Speedcross 3 is now, after all.
And from there, Salomon's only gonna get crazier. Freaky-deaky fashion collabs, weirdo shapes untold in the technical space, laceless wonders: Salomon is just getting started. If you thought the Speedcross 3 was wild, buckle your seatbelt (and zip up your Quicklaces).
van Oostrum points out that Salomon has over 30 years of footwear innovation to draw from, meaning that there's a vast archive of unexplored shoes to dig into for fresh Sportstyle innovation.
"We’ve only just scratched the surface," he said. "In this industry, you are only ever the new kid on the block one time 'round, so we're always looking to ensure that we're part of the conversation."
