Recovery Mission Birkenstock is heading feet first into the run specialty channel, and setting the pace for its Active Recovery footwear is industry veteran Jim Van Dine. By Greg Dutter
OMETIMES THE STARS align. The right man, the right brand, the right opportunity at the right time coalesce. So looks to be the case with Jim Van Dine joining Birkenstock Americas to spearhead the iconic brand’s charge into the emerging recovery footwear market in the influential run specialty channel. This is no small pursuit. The recovery footwear market presents a tremendous incremental growth opportunity for the 248-year-old brand. “I believe it could almost equal what is now regarded as the comfort footwear or better footwear channel and become a significant percentage of Birkenstock USA’s business,” Van Dine says. “Ultimately, the athletic channel that includes run specialty and select sporting goods stores could amount to well over $100 million within three to five years. It’s definitely a game worth playing insofar as revenue is concerned, but the value of brand enhancement is even greater.” Van Dine isn’t just blowing smoke. His career track record of incredible runs speaks for itself. Those include brand sales and management positions at Reebok (employee no. 14), Vans, Keen, Ugg and Hoka One One. He has experienced his share of rocket rides and, at this point in his distinguished career, has a nose for categories and brands on the launch pad. Hoka is the most recent example—a start-up brand whose meteoric rise reaffirmed the power and vitality of the run specialty channel. “The channel provides a significant runway—you can get a brand really far along and hit significant revenues without really veering out of it,” Van Dine says. Beyond that, he is a firm believer in the beneficial role recovery plays in exercise and, more importantly, that Birkenstock’s unique product attributes (think firm footbed) aid the rejuvenation process. 26 footwearplusmagazine.com • january 2022
Van Dine knows a lot about recovery. As a former elite distance runner and long-time coach of such athletes, he learned from first-hand experience. “Realizing the importance of recovery could have aided my own training quite a bit, as well as of the people I coached,” he says. The gist: Recovery is about rest and injury prevention—not the common misconception that such products are solely for recovering from an injury. “Our approach is about recovery from working out to enable your
Jim Van Dine
body to strengthen and be better prepared for that next workout, and that also reduces the chance of injury,” Van Dine explains. It’s Birkenstock’s firm cork footbed that Van Dine believes facilitates recovery so well. The firm support triggers foot recovery, and stimulates the kinetic change to recovery for the whole body, he says. “If you have a bad back, does the doctor recommend sleeping on a squishy mattress?” Van
Dine says. “Most would advise firm support, and we believe in that approach, too.” Another benefit, he says, is that the cork footbed conforms to the individual foot shape over time, virtually making it a customized orthotic. “Birkenstock is the original recovery product—a brand that invented the term ‘footbed’ back in the 19th century,” he adds. Birkenstock has coined its approach to the category Active Recovery. It involves a daily routine that starts with changing out of running shoes after exercising. “The reason for doing that is to reduce the chance of over-usage because you’re slightly changing the impact points and stress areas by wearing a different shoe,” Van Dine explains. It’s the same reason people should not always run on pavement, he says. Not only does it save the body from the pounding, but an uneven surface puts the foot in a slightly different position with every strike and that reduces the chance of overuse injuries. “Birkenstock’s Active Recovery product is equipment for your feet, because it’s not only the footwear you wear one hour a day, but the footwear you wear the other 15 to 16 waking/walking hours that contribute to your health and fitness,” Van Dine says. WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE? Not only does Van Dine believe in the overall benefits of recovery and the specific advantages of wearing Birkenstock product to achieve them, there are other reasons retailers should be interested in the category. For starters, it’s another legitimate reason for customers to shop in their stores. “You’re doing customers a service by providing a product that will keep their feet healthier and therefore, they’ll be able to do what every runner wants to keep being able to do: running,” he says. What’s more, recovery footwear is an entirely new category—one with many options and potential solutions. Van Dine believes it’s no different than in running, where there is no one shoe for all. “The same way a retailer sells a motion control or a neutral cushion shoe indicates people might need
