Running : Kalenji launch its competition models in spring 2014.

Kiprun Comp

With Kapteren Race for trail, and Kiprun Comp, for road, Kalenji wants to consolidate its position in the running world. While wishing to keep close to the user who runs for his welfare image, brand of Oxylane group attempts by these two products to penetrate competition market.

They will arrive in March in Oxylane group stores. The Kapteren Race, the new Kalenji trail shoe is lightweight ( 295gr size 43 ) and has a depth of studs 5mm multidirectional and widely spaced to ensure a better grip on rough terrain. For cushioning, shoes adopt the same "CS" concept on its road shoe models , a ring EVA , which as the company said , promotes the absorption of shocks. For competitors , however, the shoe is not for a run more than 80km .

The Kiprun Comp ,displays on the balance 205gr in size 43 for men, for women and 170g in size 39 . For an additional level of cushioned , an EVA insert is incorporated into the forefoot part and a Pebax ( a light and resistant plastic ) shaped X was added to the midfoot .

And to complete this new range , the brand also released at the end of February an accessory not usual : a lamp. Simply called Run Light and designed for night traing, this 250 grams lamp, divided front and back of the bust is held with ergonomic straps on the plexus and lights up to 20 meters in front of the rider .

Kapteren Race

Shoe , brand new challenge

Launched through textile , the brand declares today make 50 % of its business with shoes. If the priority is to enter the market by the accessibility of the practice , the brand nevertheless retains the ambitions to grow.

" We're not trying to fight against brands such as Asics , which has more than 100 years. It should give us time to develop ourselves , "says Christophe Pelletier, director Kalenji .

Without about the turnover or its share within the group , Kalenji claims a place among the top five brands of the holding , taking advantage of " a keen interest in running around the world and leardership of France for trail; practice which extends beyond the frontiers and explodes in Southern Europe countries. "

Trail, a French "speciality" ? 

The practice of trail still remains a challenge in countries where the brand admits great ambitions for the long term, such as China, Russia and Brazil.

"Trail market is very European, very French indeed. Running in the wild is not yet popular in countries like India, for example. The change that Trail practice will make is its democratization. It is still difficult to predict the evolution, but we enhance our offering in trying to adapt to the needs of practitioners, "says Guénolé Havard, director of the international supply for Kalenji.

Kalenji, which estimates represent between 1-2% of the running world market, all forms of combined practice, however, is totally dependent on the development of Decathlon stores worldwide, excluding de facto U.S. market.