Nike executive describes how you could make running shoes at home in the future
At the GeekWire Summit in Seattle, Nike COO Erik Sprunk tossed around the idea of Nike giving consumers the option to create a computer file that will allow them to manufacture a printable sneaker in their own home.
"Do I envision a future where we might still own the file from an IP perspective - you can't just have anyone making a Nike product - and have it manufactured in your own home or we do it for you at our store?" Sprunk said. "Yeah, that's not that far away."
While this innovation might be a thing of the future, the idea is that a file will contain data for your own custom shoe. Consumers would be able to create the design, color and shoe size to be downloaded and produced on a 3D printer.
Nike is constantly innovating to create the most up-to-date fitness technologies. But it's not only the products that are being updated. Nike is working to update the manufacturing and engineering process behind the creation of the products.
For example, Nike's Flyknit is manufactured and engineered using methods that reduce waste during production and speed up the entire process.
In September 2015, Nike reported its 2016 first quarter results with revenues up 5% to $8.4 billion.