APL Sets Sights on Becoming A Multibillion- dollar Business
The performance sneaker brand founded by Ryan and Adam Goldston has set out on a path to achieve their goals.
have a novel definition of innovation.
“When you think about innovation, typically it's [about] product. But there are so many other ways that you can be innovative,” said Ryan Goldston, who cofounded the Athletic Propulsion Labs footwear brand with his twin brother
Adam in 2009. “For us, when we looked at retail, we thought that was the best opportunity to show how we can be innovation in thought.”
What that translated into were unique showcases for their buzzy sneaker label. The first opened in Los Angeles in 2019 and the second in New York City in November.
“In Los Angeles, we took over a space that was long and narrow, while in New York, we have a space that is wide and a little bit more shallow,” said Ryan Goldston.
The New York flagship on Prince
Street in SoHo is 3,800 square feet and was secured after a two-and-a-half-year search for just the right spot, said Adam Goldston. “For us, location is important but proportion is also tremendously important. So we toured 23 locations in SoHo, but Ryan and I didn't feel confident in any of them. They're beautiful, but they didn't deliver the emotional experience that we wanted. But as soon as we walked into that space, we knew that was it.”
They realized that the location, with its 19-foot ceilings, could be transformed into an experiential space, much like the Los Angeles store.
“The concept came to me the second we stepped into the place,” Ryan said. “It was a rectangular box and there was a part that was recessed that was essentially considered wasted space. But I said to Adam that we need to create five vanity rooms in the back using different stones from across the world — each has its own special aspect. And it's going to reimagine how people experience footwear.”
The rooms feature 12-foot-high rare natural onyx stones that range in color from peaceful blue and vibrant pink to a kaleidoscope-colored one in the center. And the customer response has been “incredible,” Adam Goldston said. “The conversion rate in the store is unbelievable. We've seen people spend a tremendous amount of time and come back way more consistently than they do in other retail places because I think they want to coordinate their outfits to go into each different stone room…and have this personal moment.”
In the center and on the perimeter of the store, the men's, women's and children's shoes are displayed in customdesigned golden Viabizzuno “trophy boxes” with a brushed finish intended to be a nod to the gold Audemars Piguet watches both brothers wear. The boxes are intended to create a gallery-like experience while customers browse the assortment out in the open.
“We built stadium seating in the main part [of the store] where if you want to share the experience with others you can, but if you want to have this private beautiful moment where you can take beautiful photos, beautiful videos and try on the world's most comfortable and bestperforming shoes,” you can go into one of the fitting rooms, Adam Goldston said.
It was also an entirely different concept than the one they had delivered in California. “In L.A., we have product that floats off the wall,” said Ryan. “In New York, it's displayed like a piece of art, but in a different way. In the same way that Los Angeles was inspired by the City of Angels and was meant to feel heavenly, New York is inspired by the city that never sleeps so we wanted it to be a dream state.”
The California store has what Ryan described as “probably the most undesirable proportions within retail.
The space is 32 feet tall, 16 feet wide, 160 feet long. So it looks like a very long, tall hallway and the only way you can see all of the product is to walk the length of the space. But we felt those constraints allowed us to dream and execute in a way that if we had unlimited proportions and unlimited budget, we probably wouldn't have that idea. But a lot of times when you're forced to work with what you have, you can really approach it in a way that is different than if you had an unlimited canvas.”
But while the aesthetic may be distinct to the neighborhoods in which they reside, in both stores the Goldston brothers have managed to create an experience that is distinctly APL. As Adam Goldston said: “When people walk in, they feel like they're truly stepping into the world of APL. When you create something, you create it with something in mind, and you can control that, but you can't control the way people react to it. So it's been really fun and exciting to see the way people have embraced it, supported it and made it their own because, we own the company, but it's not ours. It's for everybody else.”
Although there are no immediate plans to expand their retail footprint, it's inevitable that others will open eventually, and the brothers will follow the same game plan. “We want there to be a commonality where when you walk in, you know that it's uniquely APL,” said Adam Goldston. “You can buy our shoes anywhere in the world through the website — you don't have to go to a physical location. But if you want to get that incredible experience, something that's truly unique, you have to go to our physical spaces.”
Next up may be Tokyo, they revealed. And while they have not finalized plans, they already have an idea on what they'd like to create in that city. “We've finished the idea and it is one that is truly special,” he said.
Offering something unique is what APL was built on. What helped put the brand on the map was the sneaker it created that allowed the wearer to jump higher. They dreamed of seeing it on the feet of NBA players, but the league banned it, saying it provided an unfair advantage. However, the publicity the ban generated also put the fledgling brand on the map.
Although there are reports that they may be looking to bring on investors to help them grow, at this point, APL is still self-funded and independent, which Adam Goldston said forces them to be more creative because they don't have an unlimited budget.
He said he sometimes has to rein in his brother if that creativity is going to cost too much, but overall they have a “really strong balance” and work together to make decisions that work for the company at large.
But as they get bigger, they don't want to lose that creative spark that also runs through the team they have built at the company. “We have an incredible team and they work so hard and deliver such great things,” said Ryan Goldston.
So how big can the world of APL get? Is the goal to expand beyond footwear?
“Our focus is to be the world leader in luxury performance,” said Adam Goldston. “That is what we've been focused on since the beginning. The bigger you get, the more opportunities you have and the more chances to go down paths that you probably shouldn't. So any time we do something, we have to make sure if we're extending that category, we build it brick by brick so each one is strong. I know we could be a company that's worth tens of billions of dollars, but we have to make the decisions over a long, sustained period of time. We're not in a rush to get there. Because if you make the right decisions they compound to bigger and greater opportunities.”