A traditional water sports brand is entering the footwear category with the launch of sneakers and sandals, a market worth almost R$27 billion and full of heavyweight competitors.
Speedo Multisport, the company that has been controlling the sports brand in Brazil for 45 years, decided, during a planning meeting in the Covid-19 pandemic period, that the brand should start a strategic movement to expand beyond water.
O Speedo “Amphibious Project” aims to bring the same strength that the brand has in water to land. The boldest step of this movement is starting to reach retailers in the second half of May.
Speedo is launching its own line of footwear, including sneakers and sandals, to attract a new consumer base and tap into a sector with almost R$27 billion in annual revenue.
“The biennium of 2024 and 2025 is crucial for exploring this amphibious movement, from water to land,” says Roberto Jalonetsky, general director of Speedo Multisport. “Footwear is of great importance for a sports player in all aspects, whether financial, strategic, or in expanding the distribution channel.”
Manufactured in Brazil, Speedo footwear will compete with major international brands such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, New Balance, and Mizuno, as well as Brazilian brands like Olympikus and Penalty. Additionally, there are over 230 registered brands in the Brazilian market.
The idea is for the sneakers to compete with models designed for daily wear, for both lifestyle and light exercise activities like the gym or walking. There are 45 footwear models available, priced between R$200 and R$400.
“Being multisport, we start to participate in more moments of our target consumer’s life, in addition to attracting new consumers,” affirms Jalonetsky. “From the company’s perspective, in terms of market projection and planning, this is a category within the sports world with large volumes and financial returns.”
Alongside the sneakers, Speedo will offer 35 slide sandal models that cater to a broader audience, ranging from lifestyle to performance.
For swimmers, the brand’s proprietary technology focuses on elements that prevent the foot from slipping in the sandals and the sole from sliding when in contact with water by the pool. Prices will range between R$70 and R$140.
Speedo had few doubts when deciding between domestic production or imports. As the fifth-largest footwear producer in the world, with over four thousand companies, Brazil is one of the main global centers with specialized labor and high technology.
“We look at the world in terms of technology, but whenever possible for strategic, logistical reasons and to foster business and growth in our own backyard, we produce in Brazil,” says the general director of Speedo Multisport.
Speedo tested the market’s appetite with a pre-sale event for retailers in April. This exchange served to gather feedback on the products, which had a two-year project maturation, development, refinement, and production time. The goal was to have time to make small adjustments.
The company left the meeting with 10,000 pairs sold, exceeding management’s expectations due to not having conducted any marketing for the new products. As a result, the revenue from this initial batch of footwear is expected to reach around R$2 million for the brand— a number that Speedo has not confirmed.
In the coming months, Speedo will put into practice the idea of “breaking the cycle” of having only two collections per year. The plan is to periodically supply the retail market with new products. These sneakers or sandals may feature new colors, different raw materials, collaborations, etc.
“We are remodeling; it will be challenging, but the idea is to have several deliveries to always give the sensation of having something new. This will require communication and process competency,” says Jalonetsky.
A larger footprint in retail. The entry into the footwear segment is part of Speedo’s plan to expand its presence in retail networks. The brand aims to increase its current 4,300 points of sale to a total of 6,500 points of sale by the end of 2025, representing an approximately 50% growth.
To occupy more shelves in sports goods stores, the company is expanding its product portfolio with the growth of Speedo’s licensing business unit— where footwear is included.
According to Alberto Serrentino, founding partner of the Varese Retail consultancy, distribution will be one of the company’s biggest challenges, as well as understanding how its footwear positioning will unfold, as it did with fitness fashion.
“Footwear distribution in Brazil is a highly fragmented business, with many multi-brand networks throughout the country, and everyone with a very large scale also needs to have a scale of sales and wide distribution, in addition to serving large customers,” says Serrentino.
By the end of this year, Speedo will have 12 licensed products in its portfolio. In addition to footwear, a line of bags and backpacks with different characteristics from the existing ones will enter the market, along with the introduction of the food and beverage category.
“Consumers will be able to eat and drink Speedo, but the products will be aimed at healthiness, quality of life, and sports practice,” states Jalonetsky.
Last year, the brand debuted in the supplements category with carbohydrate gels for pre and post-workout, licensed with Z2 Foods.
In addition to this, Speedo is already in dermocosmetics, with sunscreen and anti-chafing ointment, sunglasses, and home fitness equipment such as treadmills and exercise bikes, as well as beach tennis equipment.
“Speedo, in the water, comes from the performance world. We need to be able to transfer the value of technology to the momentum,” says Jalonetsky. “The plan is to do well what we are bringing to the market now.”
