We discussed Salomon's new footwear customization system, called Me:sh, in our last issue. Tecnica is now launching its own customization technology for trekking shoes, called Forge. As Tecnica's officials point out, their process is carried out more rapidly and even closer to the final customer – in the retailer's own store rather than in a highly automated laboratory.
Taking inspiration from the Custom Adaptive Shape (CAS) concept already used in Tecnica's alpine ski boots, Forge allows the shop to apply an anatomically personalized fit to a new model in the brand's line of outdoor shoes in only 20 minutes.
Tecnica's patent-pending system heats up and compresses some critical parts of the boot around the brand's proprietary anatomical last. These parts are made up of a specially developed thermo-formable polymer applied in the key comfort and foot-hold areas of the shoe: the heel, the arch, the ankles and the footbed. The footbed itself is fully thermally formable, sporting a customized instep and arch support.
The company's new Forge line of trekking shoes also features a new overlap cuff design that reduces the pressure points on the medial malleolar pad, allowing a better customization of this critical area and facilitating the step-in through an elastic insert on the Gore-Tex liner. It features a unique self-locking lace design with high-tenacity Kevlar loops for better adjustability of the laces on a rugged lace surface.
| Tecnica Group Outdoor Footwear Sales (Number of pairs) | |||||||
| 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | ||||
| Pairs | Change | Pairs | Change | Pairs | Change | Pairs | |
| USA | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| RoW | 245,920 | 1.3% | 242,767 | 0.8% | 240,774 | 3.7% | 232,121 |
| Tecnica Outdoor | 245,920 | 1.3% | 242,767 | 0.8% | 240,774 | 3.7% | 232,121 |
| USA | 148,426 | 3.3% | 143,699 | -0.7% | 144,722 | 8.7% | 133,130 |
| RoW | 2,357,993 | 2.1% | 2,308,658 | 12.9% | 2,044,085 | 10.9% | 1,843,423 |
| Lowa Outdoor | 2,506,419 | 2.2% | 2,452,357 | 12.0% | 2,188,807 | 10.7% | 1,976,553 |
| USA | 148,426 | 3.3% | 143,699 | -0.7% | 144,722 | 8.7% | 133,130 |
| RoW | 2,603,913 | 2.1% | 2,551,425 | 11.7% | 2,284,859 | 10.1% | 2,075,544 |
| Tecnica Group | 2,752,339 | 2.1% | 2,695,124 | 10.9% | 2,429,581 | 10.0% | 2,208,674 |
Furthermore, an Adaptive Sole System features a unique bottom where the oversized lugs are reversed and move to conform to the variations of the terrain. The upper layer is made of Nubuk leather, and according to Tecnica, it naturally conforms to the thermo-formable inserts during the customization process. The collar is elastic.
| Tecnica Group Outdoor Footwear Sales (€) | |||||||
| 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | ||||
| € | Change | € | Change | € | Change | € | |
| USA | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| RoW | 11,944,270 | 8.9% | 10,964,974 | 3.6% | 10,581,337 | 2.6% | 10,308,244 |
| Tecnica Outdoor | 11,944,270 | 8.9% | 10,964,974 | 3.6% | 10,581,337 | 2.6% | 10,308,244 |
| USA | 15,765,015 | 6.1% | 14,855,133 | 22.8% | 12,099,756 | 14.2% | 10,592,646 |
| RoW | 138,864,803 | 0.1% | 138,769,944 | 13.1% | 122,679,863 | 12.2% | 109,359,774 |
| Lowa Outdoor | 154,629,818 | 0.7% | 153,625,077 | 14.0% | 134,779,619 | 12.4% | 119,952,420 |
| USA | 15,765,015 | 6.1% | 14,855,133 | 22.8% | 12,099,756 | 14.2% | 10,592,646 |
| RoW | 150,809,073 | 0.7% | 149,734,918 | 12.4% | 133,261,200 | 11.4% | 119,668,018 |
| Tecnica Group | 166,574,088 | 1.2% | 164,590,051 | 13.2% | 145,360,956 | 11.6% | 130,260,664 |
The Forge series includes a women-specific model in three colors, with a women-specific last where the volumes are reduced in the heel and the forefoot, for a total weight of 520 grams, compared with 595 grams for the men's model, offered in four colors. All the models will carry a recommended retail price of €239 per pair in Europe.
Tecnica will present the Forge program to the trade at the OutDoor show starting in Friedrichshafen this coming Sunday. It already demonstrated it to selected European dealers at an event at Lake Garda in Northern Italy a few days ago, where the 100-odd participants walked away with their personalized shoes. A similar event will be held later this month for selected retailers in the U.S., where the Tecnica line of outdoor shoes has not been offered in recent years. Several European specialty retailers have already agreed to adopt the technology for the spring/summer 2018 season.
The Forge project has been steered by Federico Sbrissa, who was appointed product line manager and strategic marketing manager for the group's Tecnica Outdoor division a year ago, joining the group after working in the previous 13 years for Garmont, Dynafit and Salewa footwear at Oberalp, and Arc'teryx footwear at Amer Sports.
Forge is expected to contribute strongly to the Tecnica Group's growth in the outdoor sector as from 2018. Including Lowa, the outdoor segment generated last year only small increases of 2.1 percent in volume to 2.75 million pairs and 1.2 percent in value to €166.6 million. Lowa suffered from lower average prices and the loss of military contract (see our previous issue). Tecnica's line of outdoor boots grew by 1.3 percent in volume and 8.9 percent in value. The historical tables on this page excludes the revenues from Dolomite, a brand that the group sold to Scott Sports in 2015, when it had a total turnover of around €18 million including apparel.
The growth rates will be higher this year, according to the management.
