Zazzle Launches Men's PRO-Keds Shoes -- the Industry's First Fully-Customizable Men's Sneaker
On-Demand Manufacturing and Mass Customization Leader Expands Keds Partnership, Providing Powerful Platform for PRO-Keds Customers to Create One-of-a-Kind Shoes
REDWOOD CITY, CA--(Marketwire - February 26, 2010) - Zazzle, the leading platform for quality
custom products, today announced the availability of the world's first
completely customizable men's sneaker. In a significant expansion of the
ongoing collaboration between Zazzle and Keds, the unique line of
customizable men's PRO-Keds shoes is now available on Zazzle's global
family of websites. The shoes
will be available on the Keds website this spring.
Custom PRO-Keds by Zazzle marks the footwear industry's first
fully-customizable product for men, extending far beyond the simple color
choices currently offered by other footwear makers. Customers can upload
their own graphics and text to every canvas surface of the shoe, and can
choose the colors and patterns for stitching, lining, bindings and more.
In addition to building their own shoes entirely from scratch, customers
can also browse and buy existing shoe designs from the Zazzle marketplace
and cutting-edge design collaborations from ARTSPROJEKT, Zazzle's premier
network of top artists from around the world. Men's shoes are the newest
addition to Zazzle's already popular women's and children's shoe lines, and
allow a new set of consumers to instantly customize one-of-a-kind shoes
featuring their own artwork and creativity.
A staple of both the mainstream and counterculture movements for decades,
PRO-Keds have adorned the feet of neighborhood street ballers and legends
of the NBA, as well as beatniks, hippies, punk rockers and some of hip
hop's original MCs. Now, a new generation has discovered the PRO-Keds
brand, which is helping to inspire a collective spirit of new American
style, youthful optimism, collaboration and togetherness. In this expanded
partnership with Zazzle, Keds' classic, authentic style becomes even more
distinguishable as a leading brand, with significant vision into the future
of footwear. Customers around the world can now create high-quality men's
shoes -- both hi and lo top -- from an American icon, using their own
designs and artwork.
"These men's shoes are an exciting expansion of our partnership with the
brand, and with PRO-Keds we're actually remixing a cultural icon,"
commented Andy Howell, founder of ARTSPROJEKT Global Creative Network, a
unit of Zazzle. "By opening the blank canvas of PRO-Keds -- an already very
cool shoe -- people can unleash their creative energy on a new medium, and
that's really where Zazzle excels. Self-expression and customization is
where we see commerce headed, and we're constantly pushing the envelope
with new products like PRO-Keds."
By leveraging Zazzle's proprietary technology and on-demand manufacturing
capabilities, Keds is easily able to expand its custom merchandise creation
and purchase options with minimal cost and zero risk.