Altra Running
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Apparel |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | Golden Harper Brian Beckstead Jeremy Howlett |
| Headquarters | Logan, Utah, United States |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
| Products | Athletic footwear |
| Website | www |
|
Footnotes / references |
|
Altra Running, also known as ALTRA Footwear or Altra, is an American company engaged in the design, development, marketing, and sales of road running, trail running, and general footwear. Altra has been ranked in the top 10 brands in “run specialty” and number 4 for trail running.
In 2016, the company started to manufacture running and hiking apparel with a line of jackets, shorts, shirts, and socks. Altra developed a backless windbreaker that can be easily slipped on over a backpack or hydration pack during long distance running.
Golden Harper, Brian Beckstead, and Jeremy Howlett cut up and altered different brands of running shoes to design a better performing shoe, which they named "Zero Drop." The name refers to the lack of height differential between the shoe's heel and toe area.
Harper, Beckstead, and Howlett demonstrated their new design to various footwear companies with little success, so they started a company called Altra Footwear in 2009, partnering with Pulse Labs, an engineering firm at Brigham Young University, and with contract manufacturers in Asia.
Harper chose the name "Altra" based on the Latin word "altera", which means "to fix or mend something that is broken."
The company was acquired in March 2011 by ICON Health & Fitness, a developer, marketer, and manufacturer of fitness-related products.
Golden Harper, founder of the company, noticed that the stride and gait of barefoot runners changed when the runners wore traditional running shoes. He suspected that the heel height of most running shoes was too high as compared to the height of the mid-foot or toe.
At this time, Harper was working at his father's shoe store called "Runner's Corner", in Orem, Utah and he began modifying traditional running shoes by cutting them open, removing padding from the heel, and then using a toaster oven and glue to put the shoes back together.
Harper recruited local runners and store employees to test out prototype shoes where the heel and forefoot were the same distance from the ground. The design proved to allow a more natural running experience where footfalls are in the mid to forefoot area instead of the more typical heel strike. Harper called this design "Zero Drop".
Word spread about these hacked shoes among the local running community and Harper began selling them from his father's store. He commissioned a local cobbler to make a 1,000 pairs, but soon sold out. After failing to interest established footwear companies, Harper took the idea for the shoe to venture capitalists and former Nike designers. The shoe quickly went from a back room operation to an established brand with international production. Altra first entered the North American market in 2011 and won the Runner's World Magazine's 2012 Editor's Choice Best Debut award. By September 2013, Altra Footwear was at 300 percent annual growth rate and opening in 25 to 30 new markets.
...
Wikipedia