Nike is stepping into subscriptions with the children’s shoe service Adventure Club. The retailer offers three tiers, ranging from four to 12 pairs of sneakers per year, chosen from more than 100 different styles.
The service is aimed at kids between the ages of two and 10, letting parents quickly swap out their footwear as they grow, or even send them back for immediate replacement if they don’t fit. Nike will send the next pair as soon as the previous shoes are put in the mail, and either donate or recycle the old pair.
Adventure Club boxes also include exclusive “adventure guides” that feature outdoor activities for children and their parents. The guides are part of a partnership between Nike and KaBoom, a nonprofit focused on encouraging kids to lead active, healthy lifestyles.
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“We see Nike Adventure Club as having a unique place within Nike, and not just for it being the first sneaker club for kids,” said Dave Cobban, VP of Nike Adventure Club in a statement. “It provides a wide range of options for kids, while at the same time it removes a friction point for parents who are shopping on their behalf.”
The service is being launched in time to take advantage of both the home stretch of the back-to-school season and growing momentum in the retailer’s kid’s business. Children’s revenue has grown 11% over the past year, a Nike spokeswoman told CNBC.
The subscription segment is proving to be lucrative: 67% of retailers report higher revenue after launching these programs, according to a survey by OrderGroove and NAPCO Research. Other retailers are becoming involved with children’s subscriptions, most notably Walmart’s partnership with KIDBOX.
