Lululemon digs deeper into women’s sneakers

Canadian athleisure brand Lululemon isn’t letting its wish to expand its menswear empire slow its focus on its original core.

The company will unveil the Lululemon Chargefeel, a women’s training shoe with a dual-density foam layer system, later this month, Footwear News reported.

The Chargefeel will mark Lululemon’s second sneaker launch in the last four months, and the shoe “allows a spectrum of motion in all directions to accommodate a variety of athletic activities,” the report states. It will come in mid-top and low-top versions, each with varying ranges of motion and stability, and will be available in 14 colors and patterns.

“This is a truly versatile, multi-activity, multi-category offering,” Lululemon Footwear Design Vice President George Robusti said in the report. The Chargefeel is designed for high intensity interval training, boxing, dancing and short runs.

“All that heel-to-toe movement that you get in a running shoe, you still have it here,” he said, according to the report, adding that the Chargefeel is like a running shoe “with benefits “.

Lululemon is launching several shoe options this year, according to the report. It debuted the Blissfeel running shoe in March and a recovery slide dubbed Restfeel this summer. It plans to roll out the Strongfeel running shoe in the fall.

The line focuses on creating footwear specifically designed for the female foot, with an emphasis on its creation process, with multiple rounds of wear testing and footwear analysis data on over one million feet, according to the report. The brand plans to launch a men’s shoe collection in 2023.

In April, Lululemon Athletica told its analyst day that the next five years of its journey will be led by growth in its international, digital and menswear businesses.

Read more: The next 5 years at Lululemon will be all about international, digital and menswear

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