…the question is: will anybody care?
When La Sportiva re-issued a classic last year, it went bust. The C-lite, nee Cross-lite, is already a Gone Shoe again.
So, I worried about ordering 101s at all. At first they were not on our Spring 2015 orders, but several customers expressed interest in getting them again. I put several on our January order. They arrived yesterday and our social media spiked: people were excited!!
@KoreyKonga : I love them. I want to buy like 10 pair. It will be like your feet are meeting up with long lost lovers, the ones that got away. Reunited at last. #HotTubTimeMachine
@norsedeuce : The 101 was my favorite shoe ever.
Michael Vance: One of the best shoes ever!
@zeeger6: I waaaaaaaaant!!!!
(For the record, that’s more letter a’s than 101s we brought in on our first order.)
With all the excitement online, I felt justified in placing a small order, and a bit worried that I didn’t buy more. I got to the shop today and put on a pair: I was immediately happy I only ordered a few! This shoe should not sell well in today’s marketplace: Minimal cushion with an 8mm heel to toe offset–and on the narrow side. A triple whammy of sales prevention.
Fewer and fewer customers are coming into the shop expressing interest in minimally padded shoes. The ones that do come in, also expect that shoe to have a 4mm heel to toe offset at the most. These customers also appreciate a wide toe-box. For these reasons, the shoes by Altra and Topo Athletic have catapulted to the top.
I have a theory: if Altra and/or Topo existed in 2010 when the NB 101 came out, the 101 would have been forgotten long ago.
It is going to be interesting to see if this idea proves true. The trail-shoe industry has expanded so much since 2010. There are so many options to choose from in 2015–and more places to buy them.
Could any shoe make a come-back in today’s market? I’d love to see the Brooks Cascadia, version 1, given a chance. If the New Balance 101 does fall flat the second time around, though, it will be hard for any marketing manager to pitch a re-hash of something old to the big bosses.
For the trail shoe industry as a whole, if the 101 fails to impress this time around, it could be a good thing. It would mean that the shoes we tout as better–newer, shinier, etc.–are actually deemed better by the buying public. It could keep the evolution of trail running shoes going at the same frenzied pace it has seen the last few years. Designers could look to the future instead of turning their heads to the past.
If the 101 comeback is a big success…well, I hope all that would mean is that one of my silly theories is proven silly again.
Regardless of Boom or Bust for the 101, I think the trail shoe industry is in excellent shape: growing from the embryo of the early 21st century Montrails into a Goliath big enough that no running store will be able to avoid.
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