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Puma to Rival Nike by Launching Self-Lacing Smart Shoes
| 01/31/2019
German shoe giant, Puma is set to rival US-based rival Nike by launching its self-lacing training shoes, with the shoe expected to be available by next year.
Puma to rival Nike in smart shoe sector
Nike has dominated the smart shoe sector over the past few years but is now set to face tough competition from German rival Puma. The German shoemaker revealed that it had concluded plans to launch its self-lacing training shoes that will compete with Nike’s high-tech sneakers.
Smart shoes manufactured by Puma called Fi are usually connected to their app. This enables them to tighten or loosen the laces with just the swipe of a finger. The app works on Apple iPhone or Apple Watch at the moment, but it is expected to be made available to Android users.
Puma revealed that the smart training shoe would come with a battery under its sole. The batter can be charged via a wireless charging dock or by changing out the batteries. The company added that the battery would last for roughly a week with normal use.
However, Fi will be made available in the spring of 2020 and will have a retail price of $330. This is a bit lower than Nike’s Adapt BB, a self-lacing smart basketball shoe which is sold for $350.
Puma’s Global Director of Innovation, Charles Johnson stated that “We really wanted to tackle digital technology to bring something into the physical world. It’s definitely where I see things going, and we already have ideas about how it will evolve. Not just ideas. We’ve prototyped some things that will use this technology beyond where it’s at.”
Johnson further revealed that they are open to the idea of making the technology available to developers to enable third parties to develop various apps based on the smart shoe.