Technology Reshapes The Future Of Shoes: Vice President Of Volumtal Witnesses The Change Of Shoes Retail Solutions

　　Ales Jurca, Vice President of Shoes Research of Volumetric, has become a leader in the industry with its outstanding contributions and far-reaching influence in the field of footwear technology. His career was full of passion for technology and pursuit of innovation. He started from a small town in Slovenia and finally stood at FitTech ? Leading edge of development: use 3D scanning technology, through the combination of algorithm and AI technology, to find suitable shoes for consumers Shoes retail A new chapter of industry reform.

　　 Starting point to stimulate enthusiasm: Alpina and 3D foot scan

Jurca's career began with curiosity and pursuit of new technologies. In 2001, when Alpina began to use a laser 3D foot scanner for foot shape research, he was deeply attracted by this technology. Although the foot scanner was mainly used in the medical field at that time and its price was high, Jurca saw that it could Shoes manufacturing Great potential in. By scanning a large number of foot type data of adults and children, they have successfully developed a number of hiking boots and ski boots with appropriate width, and these products have quickly achieved success in the market.

A scanner at the Alpina store in Ljubljana. Photo: Alpina Magazine 2004-2

In particular, the downhill ski boots project developed for children deeply shocked Jurca. The data shows that there are significant differences between children's foot shape and adults', which urges them to design more loose and fit ski boots. This innovation not only improved the comfort of the product, but also made him deeply realize the importance of data driven shoemaking.

　　 FitTech ? Birth and promotion of

Inspired by these successes, Jurca and his team began to explore how to introduce 3D foot scanning technology into the retail field. They cooperated with Ljubljana University to develop a more economical and efficient 3D foot scanner and a recommendation algorithm, which can match the scanned foot with the appropriate shoe size and width. In 2003, a foot scanner was installed in Alpina's flagship store in Ljubljana. Compared with today's foot scanner, the foot scanner at that time was huge, but it was much cheaper and faster than the laser scanner. This measure not only improves the shopping experience of customers, but also creates a precedent for recommending shoes based on the scanning results of customers' feet. Ales Jurca said: "This may be a retail system in the world that recommends fit shoes based on the results of customers' foot shape scans."

Over time, Jurca's work in Alpina has accumulated rich experience and resources for him. He witnessed FitTech ? How to change consumers' shopping habits and deeply realize the huge potential of this technology. Therefore, after joining Volumetal in 2015, he continued to devote himself to promoting the development of shoe science and technology Three brands cooperated and collected tens of millions of consumers' 3D foot scans and massive data on how shoes and shoes actually fit consumers. At present, some shoe companies are already using these data to improve the comfort matching of shoes. This also allows Jurca to see more opportunities for data driven development in the footwear industry.

　　 The Change and Future Prospect of New Retail Technology

During his work at Volumetal, Jurca witnessed the rapid development and wide application of new retail technologies. He believes that FitTech ? Is completely changing the way consumers buy shoes, so that they can easily find shoes that completely fit their feet and size. At the same time, he also saw more possibilities in the future: with the continuous accumulation and analysis of 3D foot shape data, it showed that foot shape not only differed in foot length, but also in other dimensions, such as foot width, instep height, toe shape, etc. Therefore, shoe brands will also focus more on developing shoes suitable for different types of feet, so as to meet the personalized needs of consumers.

Volumetric Retail Foot Scanner: FitTech ?

Jurca is full of confidence and expectation for the future of the footwear industry. He believes that the industry is going through a profound wave of change and innovation, and will usher in new breakthroughs in shoe design, shoe materials and production methods. At the same time, he also saw the strong interest and enthusiasm of young talents in the footwear industry, which injected new vitality and power into his career.

　　 Review and prospect: transformation from engineer to industry expert

From Ziri Town in Slovenia to Vice President of Shoes Research in Sweden, Jurca's career is full of legend. At that time, there were only 5000 people in Ziri. For centuries, shoemaking has been one of the main means of making a living here. Almost every family in the town is closely related to this company. Alpina is a large company in this town, mainly engaged in the production of sports and fashion shoes, and is famous for its cross-country ski boots.

After graduating from Jurca University, he once interned in the software development department of General Electric Company for a period of time. After the internship, he thought he would never work in the shoe industry. However, when he returned to his hometown a year and a half later, Alpina The CEO wants Jurca to be the research director of Alpina. Jurca believes that the shoemaking industry is too traditional, which is not attractive to young engineers. But the CEO put forward a different view: "There are so many opportunities for research, and the possibility of upgrading the industry to a higher technical level is endless." Therefore, Jurca has been in Alpina for the next five years, which has also accumulated enough experience for him.

Jurca from a pair of Shoemaking industry Skeptical young engineers grow into FitTech ? As the global leader of the field, he has experienced numerous challenges and opportunities along the way. However, he has always maintained his passion for technology and pursuit of innovation, and constantly promoted the development and application of shoe technology. Jurca said that he would continue to be committed to ? Technology introduces more fields and scenarios to bring consumers a more convenient and comfortable shopping experience. At the same time, he will also actively explore new technologies and methods to promote continuous innovation and progress in the footwear industry. In this process, he believes that data will become a bridge between consumers and brands, and inject new vitality and power into the future development of the footwear industry.

Volumetric, at Ales Under the leadership of Jurca and other leaders, it has become a leader in footwear technology ? Technology has greatly changed consumers' experience of buying shoes. The 3D foot shape scanning data of tens of millions of consumers can provide unprecedented accuracy and personalized support for shoe design and manufacturing. By continuously optimizing its 3D foot scanner and recommendation algorithm, Volumtal has achieved comprehensive intelligence from data collection to product recommendation, setting a new benchmark for the global footwear industry. Looking forward to the future, Volumtal will continue to deepen the field of footwear technology, promote the application of more innovative technologies, bring consumers more comfortable and personalized footwear products, and also contribute to the transformation and upgrading of the entire industry.