Well, what's coming this year...
Of course, we have been thinking about this year for a long time. That's why we've come a long way and know exactly what we want to offer you. There will certainly be one or two updates to our preview this year...
Last year we received individual inquiries regarding children's barefoot sandals. Some people asked us if we could do the Alpini for the children too...
Now the time has come, the new children's barefoot sandal Alpini Kids will definitely be available this spring. We are planning it in two different versions, which comes as a vegan version with a minimal, water-resistant Onsteam® upper material and as a minimal, thin, very robust goat leather version. Both materials perfectly meet the high demands and long-term strain that a barefoot sandal faces with every step.
We are also planning to expand our top seller, the EVO, there will certainly be an EVO Light made of leather, and we also want to expand the colors to include the beautiful brown tones, Sudan brown and medium brown.
The first ideas and prototypes for barefoot sandals made from the very sustainable cactus leather are also making initial major progress. We will definitely keep you up to date in the next updates, we want it to stay exciting ;-).
Our kidney and hip belt, which we want to offer you with individual configuration options, will definitely come. We plan the belt in different colors, individual lining and according to your desired dimensions. Because this is the only way we can produce a product on demand according to your wishes ;-)
To be honest, we haven't really made any progress with our Único Light, we simply find it difficult to produce a barefoot shoe that ultimately performs so much worse than our Premium Único. Briefly explained, a Único Light variant would do without a lot, e.g. B. the inner lining, which is glued with a special shaft adhesive and can withstand the heavy loads better for many years. But above all the particularly sustainable construction sole, which can be resoled so well and many times on our Premium Único. In order to get into a significantly cheaper price segment, you would clearly have to rely on molded soles, which are not as durable and make new soles with an edge seam very time-consuming and difficult. That would mean that with the Light model we would forgo a lot of what defines our Único concept as a whole, especially the quality, and would end up with a throwaway product just to be in a normal barefoot shoe price segment. We definitely don't want that, so it remains to be seen whether we really want to take this lower quality step!
We haven't planned quite as much as we have in recent years because we want to put all our knowledge and know-how into our favorite product at the moment, the Único Boot. We are more interested in offering our premium Único barefoot shoe as a boot. This corresponds exactly to our ideas, but above all we maintain the important quality and still meet the demand to offer a higher cut barefoot shoe up to over the ankle.
Update from February 25, 2024:
We are full of anticipation to inform you that pre-sales for the brand new Alpini Kid's start this coming Friday, on March 1st, 2024! We can hardly wait.
You may think it's too early to buy children's sandals - and you're absolutely right. But that doesn't apply to our Alpini Kids. Advance sales begin next Friday, March 1st, 2024 and last about five weeks. However, delivery only takes place a week after Easter, i.e. around mid-April. Just when Easter is over is the perfect time for children's barefoot sandals.
Many parents sometimes wonder when is the right time to buy sandals for their child. Mid-April is definitely a very good time. The little feet often grow quickly, sometimes even within a few weeks.
Therefore our tip: If you really want to get your child sensible barefoot sandals, you should definitely be there next Friday at the pre-sale. Another important thing to know is that we recommend ordering a size larger, as the Alpini Kids will not be delivered until the beginning - mid of April!
Update from March 10, 2024:
What exactly is coming in March & April?
We are planning the big classic model update, which you can view and order from us next week, Sunday, March 17th, 2024. The following week we will offer the EVO 5.0 in the colors Sudan Brown. At the end of March, before Easter, the new colors of Único BF Leder will be available in fir green and ocher yellow. Maybe we'll manage to show a picture of our prototype Único boat, let's see ;-).
Furthermore, if everything goes as planned, we will be completely repositioning ourselves in terms of sales over March and April and are planning targeted collaborations, an online catalog, a Chala® travel box and a small pop-up store concept for the summer. Here, too, there will be more news to announce starting in April as we progress.
Update from March 24, 2024:
What exactly is coming with our flagship adventure running sandal EVO 5.0 model? Or will it even be the EVO 6.0...
Not only did we not manage to do it in time last week, but also for strategic material update reasons, which could perhaps be even more optimal for our EVO program, we wanted to do some more testing and... Allow time for reflection. Maybe we'll also dare to do the much larger update to the EVO 6.0...
In detail, the Sudan brown version will definitely come as a Newflex and MEGAGRIP sole. We will also offer the EVO Light as a leather version, which is long overdue. We are currently considering the major change to a completely new footbed material and is currently undergoing more precise running and endurance tests. If the newer upper material turns out to have even better properties, we may well update our entire model range. In any case, the decision will be made directly after Easter, and we are also excited to see how the tear, flow and attrition tests go ;-)
What's coming, exactly!
* The Alpini Kids certainly comes as a vegan and goat leather version in beautiful colors.
* The original model, the Classic, is getting a big update and is turning into a real Classic First Edition.
* The EVO will be expanded, there will be a Light made of leather and other brown colors.
* We are working on a brand new cactus leather barefoot sandal, more details will follow in the next few weeks. I hope we can do it this spring.
* Único, will also be further developed conceptually this year, with the new BF colors fir green and ocher.
* The completely new product, the kidney and hip belt made of leather, will definitely come this year
* The Único Light planning is currently on “hold”, we are finding it difficult to reduce the quality.
* The already advanced idea of a Único boat is currently more realistic; sales are scheduled to start in September.
* We are working very intensively on an overall and initial correct orientation of the sales of our Chala® brand. There are initial positive signals, discussions and a longer planned meeting now in February. We hope there will be news to announce here soon too.
In recent years we have placed a lot of focus on our product development and building our own barefoot shoe factory. Because it takes a lot of courage and entrepreneurial skills to successfully set up and run a barefoot shoe factory in Germany. It is clear that an initial, correct sales strategy is necessary, because we also realize that we cannot achieve our goals only from our loyal regular customers. Goals such as achieving the greatest possible independence in the free market, or strong seasonal fluctuations, or building up our winter business. Above all, producing particularly long-lasting and innovative products that are simply better than others is what drives us and we want to reach as many people as possible with them!
We'll see how this all develops over the next few weeks, how and whether anything else will happen or doors will open or even slam...
Warm greetings from the Sunday office
