Walking the walk
IN ORDER TO BUILD STRONG BONDS WITH ITS CUSTOMERS, MERRELL LEADS BY EXAMPLE
Most hikers can vividly recall the moment they reached an awe-inspiring summit. Once they’re home, that connection to the outdoors lives on in the humble tool that helped make their hike possible: their shoes. “It’s almost like a picture of the experiences and feelings that they had when they did that expedition or that family camping trip,” says John Burch, senior vice-president of global footwear at leading hike and outdoor brand Merrell. “It’s an emotional connection to your product that most industries would love to have.” Merrell, which has been in the outdoors business for more than 40 years, has taken careful steps to keep those connections strong. That’s meant listening closely to the issues that really matter to its customers: Beyond a killer pair of hiking shoes, they also want to know that a brand walks the walk on issues such as sustainability and the environment. “When you know your customer at that level and you’re building more trust with them, it changes how you create the product,” Burch says. The company’s keen efforts to inject sustainability and an environmental focus into its high-tech, innovative footwear and outdoor gear has helped Merrell earn a spot on Fast Company ’s list of the Best Workplaces for Innovators in 2023.
INNOVATION IN ACTION
At the company’s product incubator, Merrell Test Lab (MTL), R&D experts are busy putting new products through their paces with the help of the world-class athletes who field test their designs. With MTL, Merrell is on a mission to conceive and create its most technical and category-disruptive innovations that outpace other offerings, as exemplified by the MTL Skyfire 2—the lightest plated trail running shoe on the market. At the same time, they’re also thinking about what happens when a pair of Merrell shoes have hiked their last mile. That was the inspiration behind Merrell Retread, a footwear takeback and resale program Merrell launched in 2022. Trail runners and hikers can give their shoes back to Merrell, which either repairs and resells the footwear or breaks it down to be used in new products or to be recycled. The program’s goal is to keep 300,000 pairs of shoes out of landfills by 2025. “You start to learn what your product is at the end of the lifecycle, and that helps you design the product a different way,” Burch says. “It’s a full circle.”
NATURE FOR ALL
Merrell’s dedication to the outdoors is more than a marketing message—it’s woven tightly into its workplace culture. In 2022, the company renovated its Michigan headquarters to emphasize nature and mindfulness among employees. The campus includes miles of walking trails and outdoor lounge areas with firepits that serve as meeting locations. The company also has worked to promote more inclusivity around the great outdoors. Merrell published a first-of-its-kind “Inclusivity in the Outdoors” report to encourage others to help break down barriers preventing people from experiencing the power of being outside. Groups such as the JEDI Advisory Council (JEDI stands for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) and the Social Accountability Task Force contribute to Merrell’s efforts to make outdoor recreation more accessible and welcoming to a broader population beyond hardcore trail runners and hikers. “It’s the idea that you’re getting more people to feel what it’s like to take a hike and be in nature and feel the healing power it offers you mentally and physically,” Burch says. “It’s really eye-opening.”