SALOMON ME:SH. Handmade High-tech!
Salomon launches a communication platform of its future trail running and road running shoes that are made-to-measure any runner’s foot, for everyone. Codename: ME:sh. This is also a mini industrial revolution because these customized models will be made in every country for consumers. State-of-the-art technology put to use by the old-fashioned shoe cobbler. Tailor-made. Test4outside went to discover this innovative concept at Salomon Headquarters in the very, very secret Annecy Design Center.
Text and photos Franck Oddoux
With this new concept, ME:sh, Salomon announces both a new technological mutation of customized trail and road running shoes and an industrial revolution that brings new meaning to tailor-made: That’s all!
What is ME:sh?
So what is ME:sh exactly? Whilst we were here we did notice the slick marketing chic that is always the glaring glory of this Annecy brand: ME:sh, which includes both the “mesh” (weave) and “me”. This marketing force sleekly evokes a unique product for the consumer… Spot on!
A SHOE THAT FITS YOUR DREAM
So they are offering all road and trail runners the opportunity to have the ultimate dream shoe that is made-to-measure for any consumer. So you can choose your favorite drop (6mm or 10mm for trail shoes), its outer sole, (more or less lugs, hard or soft ground rubber), the cushioning, the height and width of the upper and other aesthetical elements (768 color combinations) and even add your name (up to 10 letters). This is the “Unique to Me” range.
Those baptized “Unique to our Community” provide particular needs concerning specific running environments: very muddy terrain, or rough volcanic terrain for example. The retailers could also offer shoes that are adapted to a certain type of geography.
The third range enables the buyer to procure exact replicas of Kilian Jornet’s shoes. Two models are available; a training and a competition model, with one width.
All this manufactured in each individual country, near to the customer, thanks to special machines created by Salomon. It is a return to local production and avoiding the Asian production diktat. Today 70% of sports shoes are manufactured in Asia, and Europeans and North Americans buy 80%. ME:sh is also a way of shortening delays and controlling 100% of manufacturing.
A TOTALLY NEW WAY OF THINKING
Tangibly, how can they stand up to such a dreamlike promise; a made-to-measure shoe? How is it possible to manufacture a running shoe with a robot, some digital know-how and engineers whose job runs close to being a cobbler? The answer: a “fusion” machine, high security protected software that controls the robot and qualified operators. Also the manufacturing process has been dramatically simplified compared to traditional shoe making production.
We had access to the first machine of this type in the world that enables the creation of such customized products. The Annecy Design Center is a hive of research and development ideas, here where the brands’ products are born and nurtured. Nearly 60 patents a year are produced here by the creative minds at the ADC. Almost 900 personnel work here at this secret base. Salomon’s profits (850 million euros of revenue/year) are largely thanks to the 100% passionate, sporting and creative geniuses here.
It is here that they turned the classic idea of shoe manufacture on its head to provide innovative product customization. The secret is in its simplicity. A classic running shoe needs 180 mechanical operations. ME:sh needs only 30. There are 50 components in shoes nowadays and ME:sh only has 12.
But the real genius of these shoes is the shoe’s upper that avoids having numerous different cutout materials and assembly. ME:sh uppers are made from a high-tech sock baptized the Twinskin that is shaped via a heating and fusion process of different textile layers on a last that is shaped to your foot morphology, the final form that is designed to envelop and hold your foot. Then the outer layer of the shoe is assembled in the classic manner. If the customization is done to certain technical options (cushioning, sole, etc.) the final form of the envelope is provided by the “standard” volume and not by the runner’s actual foot. But, we are getting closer and closer to tailor-made. So everyone will have access to “personalized” shoes like international elite runners.
Manufacture and assembly will no longer need a massive long production chain; it all fits in the space of an office! Before they needed more than 30-hours to make a shoe for Kilian Jornet, now they only need 112-minutes to produce a new pair of running shoes.
INTERROGATIONS REMAIN
Of course on paper ME:sh is one incredible idea: personalized products, speed, manufacturing and logistics control, material economy, reactivity, etc.
But questions persist: will the shoe behave well on the terrain? Will the structure be enough to support the foot correctly? Yes the Twinskin is a real industrial revolution by simplifying the manufacturing process, but can it provide the strength and support necessary for running across mountain slopes or on very technical terrain? Will runners that are used to traditional shoes be confused by experiencing different sensations than they are used to? Only real tests out on the terrain can answer these questions.
And of course we get to the price, are runners ready to put down so much money into this type of product? Salomon announces the retail price at 250 and 300 euros.
Transamericana avec Rickey Gates
