Saucony, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2023, in June named Rob Griffiths president. Here, Griffiths talked with SGB Executive about the brand’s authenticity and commitment to innovation, opportunities away from the run business, and his message to the run specialty community.
Griffiths began his career at JD Sports in the 80s, helping to open the chain’s fifth U.K. store in his hometown of Liverpool, England. He went on to manage the location. Moving to the brand side, Griffiths held product and marketing roles over the years at Ellesse, Umbro and the British clothing brand Bench and Esprit. For the past nine years, he has worked for Saucony’s parent, Wolverine Worldwide, with his last position as managing director for the EMEA. He replaced Anne Cavassa, who stepped down as Saucony’s president in May after leading the brand for five years.
What makes you excited about the opportunities at Saucony?
It’s enormous when you sit back and look at what Saucony has regarding opportunity and growth potential. I am humbled to join this iconic brand and lead this culturally connected team. I’ve always loved the brand, and joining and being a part of its 125-year history and heritage was very compelling. My role, and our team’s, is to be brand stewards like those before us. We must embrace the legacy of where we’ve been and our impact on tomorrow.
Saucony was destined to become an authentic running brand. The company was founded in 1898, two years after the first Olympic Marathon and one year after the first Boston Marathon. That authenticity is brought to life through the why behind what we do—inspiring and enabling people to live a better life through running culture, self-expression and their impact on the world; this is the driving force behind everything we do.
And at Saucony, we say, “When we innovate, we elevate” — the industry, the brand and most importantly, the running experience. For us, innovation is a mindset that comes to life in our product but goes beyond into our team culture with one single goal to raise the bar for runners everywhere relentlessly.
The brand’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and sustainable practices are values that resonate deeply with me. Running, obviously, is a sport that drives community, and it doesn’t matter at what pace; we are all part of the running community.
You don’t have a lot of direct experience working in the run specialty channel. How do you plan to compensate for that?
My father played professional football (soccer), and I followed that path. He and I trained together on the beach from the age of eight and went running. So, running has always been a part of my life.
My early career began in retail, and I believe that this will prove beneficial in working with the run specialty channel. The industry was different back then. It was quite an independent-driven industry and, so, I take from that a lot of values of that independent retailer. I ran the shop floor. I served on the shop floor. I was running up and down the stairs getting shoes out of boxes with my team.
Further into my retail experience, I took on leadership roles in buying; this has helped me to think like a retailer. I understand some of the opportunities and some of the issues they face because I’ve been there. I’ve done that. It doesn’t mean I’m a retail expert, but I have a good appreciation for some of the thoughts they have and some of the challenging opportunities they face.
Saucony beat expectations in the most recent quarter and delivered more than 30 percent growth over the prior two quarters. What’s working, and what areas need work for the brand?
This year is a reset year for the footwear industry. Brands will balance the need to compete on price while maintaining brand value. Getting it right for the long haul is where we are focused.
We all must stay as close to our consumers as possible and make inventory decisions based on our demand signals and the strength of our product offering. Brands with strong merchants and a long-term perspective should navigate nicely. With this in mind, there are a few things we are excited about:
- Saucony is a challenger brand. That’s a great position to be in since it forces us to innovate, focus, prioritize, and disrupt;
- Product is key, and innovation drives our category. Our product pipeline is stronger than it has ever been. Good things to come with sustainability, plush comfort, a modern nod to our throwback product collection, and, of course, speedy shoes that make running that much more fun for all levels of runners;
- Our growth so far in 2023 has resulted from healthy global e-commerce and the success of the Endorphin Elite, Endorphin Pro 3 and the Triumph 20;
- Democratizing innovation with new products like the Kinvara Pro, which is getting rave reviews from the running community;
- The enthusiasm for running, walking and outdoor activity remains high, and people seek experiences. We anticipate that event participation will significantly grow, particularly with the everyday active individual participating in their local 5K fun runs; this presents an opportunity to create a more inclusive running community, engaging a significantly more diverse group of people through the binding element of activity and approachable running culture.
One of Saucony’s newer initiatives is to broaden the brand’s reach to an active and lifestyle consumer. What does that entail?
The marketplace is evolving, and the consumer is driving that. We see running footwear show up in their everyday lives. That creates exciting potential to consider how our product lines and the Saucony brand can meet more of their needs. From our styles born from innovative comfort to our Originals collection, we’re well-positioned to be part of the consumer’s complete lifestyle.
We have strong credibility with the dedicated runner. We have 125 years of innovation that has met their training and race day needs. But “active” consumers can take many forms—more casual running, walking, cross-training, etc. And our products are well suited to meet their needs. We’re excited to continue to bring the Saucony brand to these audiences through new distribution channels.
What other plans does Saucony have for the core performance run category?
Saucony’s innovation roadmap is stronger than ever, and we’re ready to elevate the game with incredible design and disruptive product offerings that make all runners faster.
What we’re most proud of is our continual innovation in sustainable design. As we celebrate Saucony’s 125th anniversary this year, we reflect on how creating a better world has always been part of our deep-rooted heritage. Over the years, Saucony has implemented various projects on its sustainability journey. We’re continuing to take a significant step down that road, introducing products containing organic, recycled or renewable materials, such as the Triumph RFG, launching in September.
With Speedroll Technology, the Endorphin Collection opened a new chapter in the brand’s legacy of innovation, delivering effortless race day speed for the ultimate go-fast experience. Yet, regular runners told us they wanted to experience a PB-powered, carbon-plated ride on training days. As an industry leader in the geometry, foam and plate formula, we believe an efficient and effortless ride should be available to everyone and on every run. The all-new Kinvara Pro democratizes our innovation so that every runner can appreciate an efficient and effortless running experience,
Through 2023 and into 2024, we will be launching new performance products across many of our biggest franchises in both road and trail, including the award-winning Endorphin Collection as well as our other key franchise models, notably the Ride, Guide, Triumph, and Peregrine.
Coupled with our authentic community connection, we will drive continued growth for the brand and our partners through 2023 and beyond.
Where’s the biggest growth opportunity for Saucony Originals?
As sneakers continue to dominate the footwear business, especially silhouettes that walk the line between performance and lifestyle, we are well-positioned to draw in new consumers with culturally relevant stories from our Originals Collection. The biggest growth opportunity is in our collaborations, as we’ve already created our own space there and have had some success stories we’re looking to build upon. Pairing our collaborations with our authentic run-heritage product will allow us to be true to who we are, stay current with the fast-moving fashion world and grow our business.
What’s been your message to run specialty partners?
We continue to win in many different arenas, and run specialty is our key growth driver. As the best-run specialty retailers continue enhancing their in-store experience and community engagement, we remain passionate about supporting their growth. That is our core. We’re here for that, and I’m committed to building and maintaining that part of the business.
To grow and inspire the running community, we must nurture the human connection; we know that begins on the retail floor where community and belonging are created and fostered. Retailers are a direct connection to our consumers, which makes our partnership with them so critical. In my new role, a priority is to visit the market and speak to retailers and buyers. I love doing that, building connections of trust and respect while learning about the opportunities and challenges they face daily. I want them to know that we intend to be the best partner they could ever imagine in the running industry. I believe these first steps are critical to ignite meaningful change in how we do business and ultimately win the hearts and minds of runners everywhere.
Photos courtesy Saucony, lead photo Saucony sponsored athlete Grayson Murphy, on her way to winning the 2023 USATF Vertical Mountain Championships at the Sunapee Scramble
