Feel the Heat
Opportunity: Specialty Shoes
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What's the fastest-growing segment of the apparel industry? Footwear--comfortable, stylish footwear, that is. "Comfort and fashion are no longer mutually exclusive," says Diane Stone, COO of WSA Global Holdings LLC, a marketing company for the footwear and accessories industry. Although the footwear market in general is huge--it's projected to grow to $194.3 billion globally by 2010--entrepreneurs are standing out with specialty shoes for diabetics, obese consumers with foot problems, or simply people who are on their feet a lot and seek comfort.
Joe Croft, 37, Jeffrey Fitzhugh, 45, and Mike Ray, 36, have stepped into success with Jeffrey Fitzhugh, an upscale line of ergonomically contoured men's shoes launched last year. Fitzhugh describes their branding strategy as "laid-back luxury," an approach that's paying off. The Newport Beach, California, business sells its shoes at high-end retailers like Fred Segal and earned 2007 sales of about $1.5 million.
Manufacturing a specialty shoe is also a challenge, notes Jennifer Lovitt Riggs, 36, founder of Nota Bene in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. She spent a full year testing factories and prototyping her line of comfortable yet chic shoes for women. "Then I started researching production options and whether the shoes could be made while still making the price accessible," she says. "It looked promising." Fulfilling that promise, the footwear retails at high-end boutiques nationwide. Sales are in the healthy six figures and growing, she adds, as happy customers flock back for multiple pairs.
These steps can help you walk into your own profitable shoe empire: - Seek retailers in line with your brand image. It was important for Fitzhugh, Ray and Croft to get their shoes into stores like American Rag and Fred Segal. "Their brands [are] important to us as our brand is important to them," says Fitzhugh. "It's kind of a happy marriage between the two when you have a very cool brand that you've established productwise, also with a branded store."
- Secure a good manufacturing partner. Creating quality shoes is not an easy process. "You're making a three-dimensional, weight-bearing object--it's a lot harder to make than a shirt or a jacket," says Stone. Your manufacturer needs to have expertise in the structural elements that make up a quality, comfortable shoe.
- Consider selling online. Even shoe industry veterans were surprised that online shoe retailing has exploded the way it has. It was a category no one thought would be successful online, but this segment especially is seeing huge growth, Stone says.
- Research holes in the market. After watching businesswomen walk in their sneakers while carrying their dress shoes, Riggs was inspired to research the shoe market for stylish yet comfortable designs. "I discovered a real gap in the market," she says, so she launched her business to fill that niche.
- Be innovative and inventive with your designs. Combining fashion and function creates an incredible opportunity for shoe designers to innovate. Stone has seen inventive designs like shoes with interchangeable straps. She says, "People who devise things like that are able to come up with new ways to do things that nobody has seen before."
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