FootZone Bend and kidRunner to collaborate on innovative marketing and retail concepts for the world’s first high performance kid jogger.
kidRunner, the world’s first, high performance, all-terrain kid jogger, bike and Nordic ski product, announces its first Retail Ambassador – FootZone Bend. Through the partnership, kidRunner will collaborate with FootZone to expand awareness of kidRunner and explore new retail/distribution models like demos and pre-orders, while finding shared ways to grow each business.
“As a local, community-oriented specialty running retailer, we think FootZone is the perfect demographic and cultural fit for kidRunner early adopters,” said Will Warne, kidRunner partner. “We hope to develop a shared business opportunity that will enable us to experiment with innovative retail concepts and shared marketing. As local runners, we are already big fans of FootZone. We appreciate their creative, open minded approach to partnership and we’re excited to get started!”
kidRunner will market launch in 2015 following a Spring ‘15 crowdfunding campaign in collaboration with kidRunner’s ambassador team, a mix of elite runners, adventures, every day parent runners and retailers, like FootZone.
“FootZone is excited to help kidRunner bring a beautiful new piece of gear to the running market,” said Teague Hatfield, owner of FootZone Bend. “New parents are anxious for products to help them stay active and kidRunner is an innovative solution that is going to turn a lot of heads.”
FootZone is Central Oregon’s only full service, locally owned, independent running and walking store in downtown Bend. Since 1995, FootZone has been the hub of the local running community, hosting clinics, training groups, weekly runs, and a number of charitable events each year, in addition to sponsoring local races.
Founded in Bend, Oregon, kidRunner is the world’s first high performance, all-terrain, lightweight, pull-style kid jogger. It is designed to enable runners with kids to run and explore, while retaining the efficiency and form of natural running. It is 50 percent lighter than traditional joggers. The company has plans to follow their running solution with Nordic ski and bike options. The composite frame and innovative, flexible “bow” that connects to the runner decouples the up and down motion, providing a smooth, safe, high performance ride for both runner and kid. kidRunner will be available for pre-order beginning summer 2015.
