Foot Locker announced that it has made a 2 million US dollars strategic investment in Pensole, the  Footwear Design Academy founded by former Jordan Design Director and inspirational educator D'Wayne Edwards. A celebrated member of the global sneaker community for three decades, Edwards' mission at Pensole is to "create a pipeline of new designers for the entire footwear industry". He does this by offering free tuition and a learn-by-doing curriculum that teaches students the entire footwear and apparel design process, from product inspiration and concept development, to manufacturing and branding.

Pensole's success speaks for itself, with 400 graduates currently working in the sneaker industry since its first class in 2010.  This investment by Foot Locker deepens the company's longstanding partnership with Pensole and extends the companies' relationship across all aspects of the design process.

"My relationship with Foot Locker goes back over 30 years from consumer, to designer, to educator and now partner. I am excited to deepen our relationship with Foot Locker so we can empower consumers to create their future through innovative educational programs", commented Edwards, adding: "It has always been our joint mission to foster the next generation of emerging footwear and apparel design talent, and I am confident that our collaboration will contribute to the continued growth of the academy, success of our students, and accelerated innovation in the footwear industry."

Together, Foot Locker, its vendor partners, and Pensole, will collaborate on new educational programs and the design and manufacturing of exclusive products for the Foot Locker family of brands. Foot Locker first supported Edwards and his vision for Pensole in 2015 through an annual master class design competition, "Fueling the Future of Footwear." Thirty students who have gone through the Foot Locker and Pensole Master classes are currently working in the industry. Foot Locker has also sold three styles created from the class globally, all of which have had successful sell-through.

This strategic investment will not only further support Edwards and the Pensole mission, but also give Foot Locker and its vendor partners new access to collaborative design and manufacturing talent.

"Through this investment, we are excited to extend our partnership with Pensole, an organization that shares our deep commitment to fostering education and driving design innovation and excellence in the industry," said Richard Johnson, Foot Locker's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Pensole's position as a leading footwear design academy will enable Foot Locker, Inc. to deepen our relationships with our vendor partners and leverage the next generation of talent across our brand partners for exclusive consumer-facing concepts. We look forward to working closely with D'Wayne and Pensole's talented students and world-class faculty, as together we design and produce the footwear of tomorrow."