Talking Sneakers are Finally Here! Sneakers Make Personalized Statements with Lace Buddies by U-Lace
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (PRWEB) March 20, 2019 -- U-Lace No-Tie Sneaker Laces introduced a fresh, new, on-trend line of bright-colored sneaker lace charms for Spring 2019. The individual letters, icons and emojis, made of high-quality polyurethane and currently available in 9 colors - empower sneaker lovers to display customized messages and express individuality on their sneakers. Lace Buddies thread onto U-Lace’s modular no-tie shoelaces and traditional woven laces. Lace Buddies represents the first major expansion into a new retail product for U-Lace since creating the no-tie, woven laces it gained international recognition for on Shark Tank.
CEO Tim Talley says, "Lace Buddies allow tweens and teens and younger kids to use fashion to be part of a tribe, while expressing individual creative statements, so their sneakers speak for themselves. Think of it as a mash up where Pandora Meets Lego for kids and kids-at-heart."
“Personalized fashion is hot right now,” said Talley. “More and more we find ourselves living in a mass-produced, homogenized world. U-Lace was a first attempt to allow consumers to take a mass-produced sneaker and customize it to make it their own. Lace Buddies takes this concept a bit further by adding personalization to the mix. “We’ve been seeing this craving for personalization in our trend-spotting around the globe for a couple years, but the industry reports are making note of it too.”
The Business of Fashion McKinsey Global Fashion survey identified the number one fashion trend of 2018 as personalization. McKinsey and Company identified personalization as one of the top 10 fashion trends of 2019.
Personalization is often associated with cost or luxury. Boutique brands offer custom fit measurements at a price or stores offer customization for an upcharge. Lace Buddies, retailing at $3.99 for a pack of 6, makes it affordable for kids to ride the personalization trend and express individual style on their sneakers. They can spell out their name, a statement, or use emojis and icons to express a long-term or even a daily sentiment.
Response from early product testers exceeded the company’s expectations. “I had a vision of making Lace Buddies fun for kids to wear, but when we rolled out the product to some young product testers I was blown away,” said Talley who is also U-Lace’s Chief of Product Design. “Reactions when kids saw their name or their passion spelled out on their sneakers, were everything I hoped for. But then kids started exchanging Lace Buddies and helping one another create new ideas. That made all the hard work on creating this product so fulfilling.”
In addition to the Lace Buddies charms the company will release a collection of synergistic, customizable Lace Buddies accessories : key chains, ID tags, bracelets, zipper pulls and other items Lace Buddies charms clip into.
Lace Buddies can be found online at LaceBuddies.com, U-Lace.com and at select retailers.
About U-Lace: U-Lace is a global, modular, no-tie lace brand and has been in business for 10 years. Since being featured on Shark Tank in 2014, U-Lace has grown into a successful business which brings innovative products to the previously-limited shoelace industry. Its no-tie laces have sold over 15 million sets worldwide.
Tim Talley, U-Lace, https://www.u-lace.com, (585) 454-8498, [email protected]
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