Footwear Plus | The Source for Retailers | 2010 • September

never give up. It’s just not in my makeup. And I’m really passionate about our products—I love the smell of the leathers and how they feel. No. 2 would have to be my loyalty. I try to be fair with everybody, and I believe that as long as I do my job right, everything else will fall into place. I never really worry about money. Money is not why I got into this business.

You don’t come across too corporate—which is a compliment.

It goes back to my baseball playing days. I approach my business as a game that I really want to win. I don’t run it as a business; I run it as a family—and it’s all about winning.

When a finance guy runs a company, there are good and bad aspects. Personally, I think there’s more bad, because that individual is going to watch out for the numbers more than anything else. But when a salesperson like myself runs a company, we are not afraid to take chances. Now, I do have my fi nancial guy sitting over my shoulder whispering for me to be careful at times—and I do listen—but when you’re hot, you have to ask yourself, how many chances do you get to be hot? We have to take advantage of it while we can. Sometimes people make the business much more complicated than it needs to be.

Any guesses on how long Bearpaw’s hot streak might last?

In 2003, I thought, “Wow, this is fun, and I’m making some money now. But it’s gotta slow down.” Then in 2005, we landed Famous Footwear and it has since become a destination for our brand. But again, I expected growth to slow. Yet we kept on growing, and this year we landed Macy’s and our international growth will be up 10 times. So how do you accurately project future growth? In addition to the fact that we offer a hot look, people want the brand now as well. And sheepskin boots, specifically, have become a style staple. People know that in the winter it gets cold, and if they’re attending, say, a football game, then they are going to be wearing Bearpaw.

What is the main difference between Bearpaw and other sheepskin brands?

I think one the best analogies of the difference between Ugg and Bearpaw consumers was revealed at a high school football game I attended with my son about three years ago. One of the schools was from an affluent town, and its fans were primarily Ugg wearers; the other, more middle-class town’s fans mostly wore Bearpaw. That summed it up best: Ugg sells the elite and we sell the masses. That snapshot told me what direction to head with our brand. And it also taught me to keep my eyes open and let the consumers guide me.

And there’s room for a handful of sheepskin-based brands?

Absolutely. We still have challenges meeting our growing demand.

And let me just say, I consider Ugg a great brand and a category creator. While there’s an old saying, “Don’t tug at Superman’s cape,” we did and got away with it. We recognized the potential of this category at the mass level right away. Emu Australia was there at the time, but they had internal problems. No one has truly committed to this market segment like we have at the mass level, and we’ve since surpassed the competition. There are always opportunities for brands to succeed.

In the case of sheepskin footwear, the premise appears to be pretty simple: comfortable shoes sell—and sell well.

Once you get into shoes that are comfortable, you’ll never want to take your feet out. That’s the most important aspect to me. Kids today feel the same way, and that’s one of the main reasons why Bearpaw appeals to a younger demographic.

Bearpaw’s broad distribution also reflects how sheepskin’s >39