China’s Xtep International Holdings, Ltd. has opened its first stand-alone Saucony store in Hong Kong, with more stores are planned for the region.
Xtep acquired full ownership of the Saucony brand and intellectual property rights across Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau in early 2024. Xtep and Saucony’s parent company, Wolverine Worldwide, initially formed a joint venture in 2019 to expand the brand in the region. It holds similar rights to Merrell, also owned by Saucony’s parent, Wolverine Worldwide.
The store is located at K11 Art Mall, in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Spanning over 1,700 square feet, the store “takes inspiration from Saucony’s iconic river logo and blends elements of Hong Kong’s street and running culture to create a new experiential space that combines professional running, athleisure and lifestyle, targeting Hong Kong’s premium consumers and running communities,” according to a media release from Xtep.
The store stocks performance and lifestyle products and will periodically feature limited-edition items and colorways exclusive to the location. The store also offers customers foot-scanning devices.
To support the store opening, a pop-up “Saucony Run As One Hub” will be open at the mall from June 23 to July 6, highlighting Saucony’s history and running roots.
Ding Shui Po, chairman and CEO of Xtep International Holdings Limited, said the grand opening of Saucony’s first image store in Hong Kong represents an important milestone in the brand’s development.
“This move signals Saucony’s official entry into the “era 2.0” and reflects the Group’s strategic determination to elevate the brand to new heights while further strengthening brand momentum and reinforcing its premium brand positioning,” the CEO continued in a media release. “As a heritage brand with over a century of history, Saucony has been successful in building up its premium brand image and effectively focusing on running and social elites. This has enabled the brand to gather strong growth momentum, solidifying its role as the Group’s secondary growth engine.”
Looking ahead, the CEO said Saucony will “continue to increase brand investment, expand its presence in premium retail locations, and broaden its product portfolio by accelerating the launch of apparel and lifestyle collections, further strengthening its duality as a performance authority for athletes and a refined lifestyle brand for the premium market.”
He also noted the company would “continue to capitalize on the synergies among the Group’s three core brands, namely the core Xtep brand, Saucony, and Merrell, to leverage their complementary strengths and reinforce their market leadership as the ‘No.1 Running Brand in China.’”
Image courtesy Xtep International Holdings, Ltd.
