Puma deepens metaverse efforts to support new footwear drops

Dive Brief:

In celebration of its 75th anniversary, Puma debuted Black Station 2, an expansion of its metaverse effort that launched last September. The platform features two worlds where shoppers can purchase NFTs and redeem them for physical goods, the brand said Tuesday in an emailed announcement.
Shoppers can explore both digital spaces within the platform, including Unkai, which was designed based on Shibuya, Japan, and Unter, which was inspired by the club culture of Berlin.
Puma plans to use the metaverse platform for new footwear releases, and the first drop on Black Station 2 will be the Fast-RB running shoe. Puma Pass NFT holders can buy a Materializer NFT, which represents a physical shoe to be produced, or a digital collectible NFT. Purchases on the platform can be made with cryptocurrencies as well as by credit card.

Dive Insight:

After taking its first step into the metaverse last year, Puma is diving further into the concept with the help of MoonPay. For Black Station 2, the brand tapped MoonPay to manage its NFT transactions and provide Web3 infrastructure.

The debut of Black Station 2 is part of the brand’s overall efforts to enhance its “web 3 footprint,” the company noted in its announcement. The company said its metaverse experiment will complement its physical stores and e-commerce operations. The company's Puma Pass, formerly known as Nitro Collection, will give members early access to new Puma products.

“We’re thrilled to invite our community into these new worlds that provide an unparalleled shopping experience,” Ivan Dashkov, head of Web3 at Puma, said in a statement. “Puma aims to meet our community where it shops while also exploring new and exciting opportunities within cryptocurrency and the metaverse.”

Last year, Puma unveiled the first iteration of Black Station during New York Fashion Week alongside a metaverse fashion show. Viewers could watch an online adaptation of the show and engage with the items in the collection.

Meanwhile, other major footwear and activewear brands have created digital environments to attract customers interested in digital goods. Last November, Nike unveiled its Web3 platform, .Swoosh, for digital goods, enabling shoppers to co-create and collect digital goods like shoes and jerseys. That same month, Adidas introduced a product category for digital gear and launched a 16-piece Adidas Originals collection of NFT virtual wearables.