Todd Krinsky And Nick Woodhouse Look To Return Reebok To Glory Days

And while the Ithaca College-graduate was fortunate enough to look at computer aided design prototypes and be privy to information before most people thanks to his gig at Reebok’s HQ, some of his fondest memories from his earliest times with the brand are complemented by his time as a sales associate at Foot Locker. “Of all the things that I’ve done–and I’ve lived overseas and have had all these other jobs at Reebok–one of the most fulfilling things and best memories is still working retail,” Krinsky said.
 
Woodhouse agreed, having worked at Forzani’s Locker Room in Canada throughout his teenage years and early adulthood. “Yes I was enamored with footwear, but it was more this, this relationship between people and their shoes. ‘Do you pronate or do you supernate?’ were the only questions you would ask someone shopping for shoes.”
 
As two individuals who’ve been occupied with footwear for the majority of their lives, Krinsky and Woodhouse lit up when speaking about dual-density EVA midsoles, traction technology, and metatarsal bones.
 
“I think it should be a pre-requisite for anybody who comes into the industry to work a floor whether you’ve done it before or not because that’s where the energy is–you talk to the consumers, see what motivates them,” Krinsky shared. “[T]o this day–I know Nick does this too–but whenever we’re anywhere, first thing we do is hit a store and just talk to associates; you get so much knowledge out of a kid who’s just working retail all day.”

“[W]e have this unique space of living at the intersection of fashion and performance, and every major moment in sneaker history, we’ve had an answer to it or a part to play in it. Every single one, in every single category, whether it’s track spikes, basketball shoes, running shoes, or anything, right? That, to me, is the unique space that Reebok occupies. And it’s a super brand–there are three super brands in footwear…that sit at this intersection of amazing moments in pop culture, amazing moments in fashion, amazing moments in performance. And that’s what we’re going to continue to expand on.”
 
Neither Krinsky nor Woodhouse confirmed or denied the Three Stripes prioritizing its product over Reebok’s, but it’d be foolish to not suspect that adidas, over the course of 16 years, faced the business decision of barring Reebok shelf space if it meant dominating certain segments of the market.
 
“Imagine having one of the greatest sportswear brands in the world that’s been kind of contained for a really long period of time, and all of a sudden it’s unleashed. We’re driving 100 miles an hour now; we have an untapped archive…I think we have the second-best archive in the industry,” Krinsky asserted.