Insight into Table Tennis Shoes <PART 1> How Table Tennis Shoes Are Made

The Cutting Edge of Table Tennis Shoes in Japan

Over three installments, we take a close look at the table tennis shoes you all wear so casually every day. In PART 1, we explain the shoe development process in detail. Then we introduce the Mizuno & BUTTERFLY lineups and recommended shoes.

CONTENTS
・How Table Tennis Shoes Are Made
・Shoe Lineup [Mizuno]

Development process: “How Table Tennis Shoes Are Made”

1 Research & hearing ⇒ deciding the direction
2 Repeated team discussions to examine “trade-offs”

3 Once the design and specs are finalized ⇒ sample production

4 Check the sample ⇒ players’ “sensory evaluation”

5 Brush it up to completion ⇒ release (launch)

Interviewed by: Shoma Watanabe, Product Planning Section, Performance Sports Planning Department, Global Footwear Product Headquarters, Mizuno

It starts with “the user’s voice.” Researching the issues

Our shoe development starts with interviews with users. The planners visit shops to check sales trends and thoroughly ask what frustrations and issues users have with the models currently on sale and the shoes available on the market. We interview users not only about our own products, but also about other companies’ products.

From there, we broaden the idea of what kind of shoes would be needed to solve those issues. We propose ideas while also considering consistency with our overall shoe lineup, and work closely with the marketing team. We discuss whether the planned shoe is truly something people want and whether it will sell, and if it were to be released in reality, how we should promote and publicize it.

This is a scene from a table tennis motion analysis conducted at MIZUNO ENGINE, the Innovation Center adjacent to Mizuno’s Osaka headquarters (model: Seiya Yokotani). A wide range of data is collected through numerous cameras and floor sensors and used in development.