NewHavenBIZ

New Haven Biz-March

Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1494400

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 6 of 31

n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | M a r c h 2 0 2 3 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 7 Building Ideas That Work... CROWLEY FORD, PLAINVILLE SULLIVAN HONDA, TORRINGTON Contact us at 860.482.7613 or visit us at BorghesiBuilding.com 2155 East Main Street Torrington, Connecticut 06790 © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing ™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. SULLIVAN JEEP, TORRINGTON No matter what brand of vehicle you purchase, you want to be sure that it is reliable. Choosing a builder should be no different. For more than 80 years, Borghesi Building & Engineering Co., Inc. has provided quality and reliability with design and energy efficient construction. With on time construction, Borghesi Building & Engineering Co., Inc. will create a smooth transition from construction to completion. e video, which has been viewed more than 15 million times on TikTok, shows athletes watching with surprise as Arciuolo folds and launches a sneaker loaded with VKs from the ground to the ceiling. At one point during the clip an athlete performs a vertical jump of 40 inches in the air – which the athlete says is five inches higher than he achieved without the VK. Wasik says that the uptick in attention that the company received from its social media marketing helped the company boost its sales by more than 80% in the fourth quarter of 2022, up from its sales in Q4 last year. While he declined to disclose specific figures, Wasik notes that 2022 was VKTRY's best year in sales as the company sold its 115,000th pair of VKs by the end of the year. e company offers three categories of VKs at dif- ferent price points. e gold VKs – the original design – cost $169; a more cost-effective model for "casual athletes" – the Silver VK – sells for $99. For people who require more fit and support, VK- TRY Gear offers the $399 Platinum VK personalized to an individual athlete. Coming off their best year in sales, Wasik said he and Arciuolo are eyeing additional growth in 2023, with hopes of increasing revenue by more than 50%. Overcoming the hurdles While VKTRY is enjoying its day in the sun, Wasik admits that the company faced significant hurdles at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. "at was devastating for us because team sports and schools were closed down," he said, adding that VKTRY saw a 20% decline in sales in 2020. e company pivoted toward older consumers during the pandemic, targeting individual sports and activities like running, fitness and golf, among others. at proved beneficial for the company, which grew its sales by roughly 15% from 2020 to 2021. "By doing so, we were able to survive the pandemic," Wasik said of the pivot. Educating consumers about their product is another challenge the company has been working to address. "e last time we did a survey, we saw that our product only had a 5% awareness rating, so we know there are 95% of athletes who can still discov- er the product," he said. e company has tried to mitigate its consumer-ed- ucation challenge through independent studies show- ing the benefits of its carbon-fiber insoles. One such study, conducted by Southern Connecti- cut State University, found that, on average, athletes who used VK's product saw a slightly more than 9% increase in what the company termed "athletic explo- siveness" when jumping and running. at was evident in several studies with roughly 77 college and high school athletes summarized by VK- TRY in September 2020. A 2016 study conducted by Barwis Methods in Florida found participants cut 0.12 seconds off their 40-yard-dash time, while a UConn study found that participants added 1.5 inches to their vertical jump using the product the following year. Beyond the data, athletes tell New Haven Biz that they've experienced noticeable differences in their athletic performance once they started using VKs. Dallas resident John Ranello has been a personal trainer for 50 years, but began using VKTRY insoles six years ago. At 72, he says that he is training harder without injuring himself. "My goal is to try to sustain my athleticism and peak performance for as long as I'm capable of doing it," he said. Ranello learned about VKTRY through one of his workout partners, whose son played at the University of Oklahoma. "One of their coaches mentioned VKTRY insoles to my friend and he told me about it and I looked them up," he said, adding that he was looking for something that would allow him to maintain his health and con- tinue his love for sports and fitness. "Prior to using VKs, every time I sprinted or ran on the basketball court, my hips hurt, my knees ached and I had to constantly ice my knees and hips just to feel better," Ranello explained. "But, aer using VKTRY for about six years, I haven't had to ice again and I am probably training much harder now than I did six years ago." Aside from training clients at the Dallas Jewish Community Center, Ranello said he still plays sports like football and basketball and trains regularly, achieving personal bests in different activities. "I'm 72 years old and I'm still running a 5.4 (sec- ond) 40-yard dash, which is pretty fast for an old guy," he says. "Fiy years in the health club business, I know what works and what doesn't work." n Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of NewHavenBIZ - New Haven Biz-March