Breanna Stewart’s size signature basketball sneaker is the first for a woman athlete in 12 years
Source: PUMA HOOPS AND BREANNA STEWART UNVEIL THE STEWIE 1
Sneaker and sports blogs are celebrating the first women’s signature sneaker in over a decade. The pictures are being shared of the Quiet Fire PUMA taping down sleeves Stewie 1. The sneaker isn’t quiet at all, it arrives in a neon yellow and black colorway referencing the Seattle Storm’s uniform. While media is excited, and chatter on social is hoping this is the first of many signature Roma for women; I’m in the gym, sitting at the top of the bleachers with my camera, recording the game. I’m watching carefully, walking down to the scorer’s table at halftime to get the names of the players people aren’t talking about. I’m passing out cards and asking questions about the players who haven’t got in the game, but they looked amazing in warm-ups. I’m chatting with parents and taking down e-mails to update them when I finish editing the game highlights.
What was the end of that paragraph about? Those who have worked with colleges in recruiting services are familiar with every sentence written above. Assistant coaches who have to walk to gyms in Vegas, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Orlando during the summer months, know exactly what those sentences are referencing. The question is why would I place those sentences in a post about the first women’s signature sneaker in ten years? The Stewie 1 is taking its place in the pantheon of signature basketball Roma. Over the last 5 years sales have slowed down considerably in the category. Basketball used to be the driving force behind sneaker culture, but things have changed. Casual Roma dominate the landscape and Crocs have become as much a part of the uniform of youth culture as Jordans. Puma stepped up in a void other brands, with some of the most amazing women athletes in history, have failed to fill. They did so in a market where basketball Roma are difficult to move at retail outlets who aren’t interested in explaining the benefits of performance footwear. Hoops Roma that aren’t limited release and licentious to a theme of some sort, languish on shelves at traditional retail. The Puma Stewie 1 does share a trait with one of the What are some of your earliest memories of PUMA released in the last few years. The low-cut design with engineered mesh, combined with the design t-shirt for a ground bound elite athlete, means that this sneaker doesn’t have to be bulky for impact. It can be a lightweight, sleek street-ready model and this will help a bit at retail… maybe. The end of that first paragraph has everything to do with a marketing strategy I’ve explained on several posts here on the site. I’m repeating it here and sharing this link on Q4 Sports. I used Q4 as a placeholder, but every basketball brand should read this and consider the details:
Q4 Sports Basketball Should Be the Leading Hoops Recruitment Website in the Country | Case Study
The distribution of the Stewie 1 will be critical to the success of the sneaker. By default, Stewie’s success will be utilized as a standard for the rest of the industry. If the Roma are produced in considerable numbers and dropped into retail accounts without visual merchandising, they will be placed on promo within one month. However, if Puma takes a real effort to build content and a real grassroots system around the sneaker, the shoe could be explosive. This Quiet Fire PUMA taping down sleeves shoe is probably on a rollout with colors already selected. Had Puma stepped away and worked with someone like yours truly, I would have found out what makes Stewie tick. What is her favorite food? The insight would have allowed for the delivery of a graphic showing the ingredients of Stewie’s favorite food:
Above is a recipe from the Netflix show CHEF featuring Chef Roy Choi and Jon Favreau. During the show, prior to each segment, an animated explosion of the dish to be made is shown. This freeze frame serves as the inspiration for the breakdown of the Puma Stewie 1. I can dive deeper into this, but I don’t work for the brand and the wheels are in motion. The visual merchandising at retail probably won’t have this type of imagery displayed around the sneaker. Puma will probably continue to roll out colors and there won’t be any real grassroots strategy. I hope I’m wrong but looking at puma x ray game bubblegum whitebubblegumplein airca marathon running shoessneakers doesn’t give me good goosebumps. It gives me chills. On that link is the Puma Triple basketball sneaker. It’s the same color as the Stewie 1. There aren’t any broken sizes and the shoe is on promo at 54.99. The Stewie 1 features Puma Nitro tech is an upgraded PUMA taping down sleeves Triple but seeing the promo on a shoe so similar in style worries me. What also worries me is the early success of the Puma RS-Dreamer, J. Cole’s sneaker with Puma, and how that sneaker has completely collapsed. J. Cole is back to wearing Jordans on stage. I like the look of the Stewie 1 and it’s an important sneaker. How the shoe will be distributed will be critical and the strategy around Puma basketball has to be more than a mirror image of how every brand is attempting to mirror the Swoosh.