LA's newest footwear brand Q4 Sports launches in time for NBA finals

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Jun 9, 2017

In the midst of NBA finals, a new performance footwear brand Q4 Sports has launched five debut styles designed to bring affordable quality basketball footwear technology to consumers without the hype of big brands.

Among the five launch styles that Q4 Sports is introducing are standard basketball footwear silhouettes of a low top and a high top. The high tops feature proprietary cushioning and secure lock down structure as their key marketing points, not unlike the established brands.

High-tops are called the Millennium Hi and the 495 Hi. The Millennium model retails for $125 and the 495 for $115. On the low-top side of the collection, the 495 Lo will retail for $110. It features a ventilation system using fabrics designed to keep the wearer's foot cooler than if they were wearing a high-top. It is already sold out on the brand's website. A sock-like style called the Specialist retails for $95 and focuses on fit. The final style in the collection, the Nforcer, will focus on impact protection and is still facing an upcoming release.

The Q4 Sports shoes have a noticeably lower price point range than the traditional basketball footwear consumers have grown to accept in the marketplace. The company currently sells its styles on its own website. Price points for the debut collection range from $95 to $125. Nike's signature athlete footwear has seen comparatively high price points of $300.

Unlike Nike, Under Armour and Adidas, Q4 is positioning itself as a performance-only brand, in opposition to the athleisure trend. "We’ve designed and developed a brand and product that speaks directly to the serious, fierce baller who wants a high-quality basketball shoe that looks cool and performs even better,” said Quintin ‘Q’ Williams, Q4 Sports global design officer and co-founder. “We’re the brand for the hardworking, tough athlete that takes sport as seriously as we do without all the hype," Aaron Sokol, co-founder of Q4 Sports said. " We’re everything the big, impersonal brands aren’t.”

The new, privately-held company is based in Culver City, CA. According to Sokol, it aims to fill a void left by "big, highly impersonal, detached, monolith companies as well as the niche Chinese footwear brands.”

Missing in Q4 Sports' strategy is a professional athlete endorsement deal. This marks an interesting departure from the model that Nike, Adidas and Under Armour follow that has been proven to be the marketing method that best converts to millennial sales. With the low-top model already selling out, it will be interesting to see how the consumer responds to a fledgling brand taking a different approach in a saturated market.