PENSOLE World Sneaker Championship Design To Launch Exclusively At Select Foot Locker Stores Globally

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Feb 22, 2017, 15:03 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL), the New York-based specialty athletic retailer, in collaboration with PENSOLE Footwear Design Academy, today unveiled the winning sneaker design for the 2016 PENSOLE World Sneaker Championship Powered by Foot Locker. The shoe will be sold in limited quantity at select Foot Locker stores around the globe on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017.

2016 World Sneaker Championship winning sneaker design, by Maxwell Lund.

The winning sneaker from the 2016 competition, designed by Maxwell Lund of Morton, Minn., was selected via public bracket-style voting from the top 64 finalists around the globe. After the consumer voting period closed with two finalists, a panel of industry judges selected the final design.

Lund's design was handcrafted in Portugal by Portugal Footwear and features a FE (For Ever) molded EVA outsole, three different grades of fine Portugal leather, lasered signature of the winning designer on top of the pull tab, World Sneaker Championship logo on the heel and metal lace tips. Each shoe is individually numbered on the back of the tongue and comes in a box with straps so it converts into a backpack.

"The World Sneaker Championship changed everything for me," said Lund, WSC winning designer. "Before the tournament, footwear design was nothing more than a dream of mine. This tournament has made me believe in myself."

Lund's World Sneaker Championship winning design will be unveiled at the World Sneaker Championship Experience (WSCX) at NYC33 in New York City tonight. The one-of-a-kind PENSOLE shoe will be sold at Foot Locker stores in New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., Toronto, Sydney, London, Paris, Milan, Madrid and on footlocker.com and footlocker.eu – with only 300 pairs retailing worldwide for $180 (USD). For release procedures and store locations, visit Foot Locker's Launch Locator.

"We're excited to partner with PENSOLE to bring World Sneaker Championship to the next level by selling the winning sneaker at Foot Locker," said Stacy Cunningham, vice president of marketing for Foot Locker. "PENSOLE Footwear Design Academy continues to inspire the next generation of sneaker designers and we're thrilled to have some of the industry's most innovative sneakers available exclusively at Foot Locker."

Foot Locker will continue its WSC partnership with PENSOLE for 2017. This year's top 64 finalists will be announced this Saturday, following the retail launch of the 2016 winning design, via Foot Locker Facebook Live stream at 6 p.m. ET. For more information and to vote on the 2017 WSC competition, visit: https://worldsneakerchampionship.com/

"World Sneaker Championship has continued to grow, and partnering with Foot Locker has only amplified that," said D'Wayne Edwards, founder of PENSOLE Design Academy. "With more than 5,700 registrants from over 57 different countries and 300,000 voting public in 2016, I can only imagine what's in store for this year's competition. The reach of sneaker culture around the globe is really amazing to see."

About Foot Locker

Foot Locker is part of Foot Locker, Inc., a specialty athletic retailer that operates 3,363 stores in 23 countries in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Through its Foot Locker, Footaction, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champs Sports, SIX:02, Runners Point, and Sidestep retail stores, as well as its direct-to-customer channels, including footlocker.com, Eastbay.com and SIX02.com, the Company is a leading provider of athletic footwear and apparel.

About PENSOLE

PENSOLE's "learn by doing" curriculum teaches students the entire footwear design process: inspiration, concept-development, design process, problem solving, materials, business, networking, marketing, and branding. PENSOLE features the most sought after faculty in the footwear world, comprised of both young professional designers and established footwear design leaders from the top brands, with more than 100 years combined experience to guide students in their professional development.

D'Wayne Edwards, a celebrated member of the global footwear community for the last 26 years, founded PENSOLE to give talented young design students—regardless of socioeconomic background—an opportunity to learn from the industry's best, without financial barriers, and to provide the industry with a farm system for the next generation of footwear designers.

Since the first PENSOLE class in 2010, more than 185 Academy graduates have been placed professionally, full-time or as interns, for footwear companies worldwide, including Columbia Sportswear, The North Face, Timberland, Converse, New Balance, Cole Haan, Under Armour, Keen, Stride Rite, adidas, JORDAN, Kenneth Cole, ECCO, Reebok and Nike.

SOURCE Foot Locker, Inc.