Q&A SEEING THE GLASS HALF-FULL

With nearly 15 years as an established footprint in the children’s shoe category, Esquire Brands stands strong with a robust number of accounts. Discover how this positive-thinking company continues to make strides in licensed fashion footwear.

AN ENTREPRENEUR, SOURCING guru and licensing expert walk into a bar. It sounds like the beginning of a terrible joke, but it’s the real story of the leadership behind Esquire Brands; CEO Isaac Saada (the entrepreneur), COO Brad Nieder (the sourcing guru) and President Peter Roccamo (the licensing expert) spearhead this children’s footwear company.

If the name Esquire Brands doesn’t ring any familiarity bells, then the fashion footwear they produce surely do: DKNY Kids, Kenneth Cole, Jessica Simpson, and Marc Fisher. Collectively, they have decades of experience in both the fashion and footwear industries. Esquire Brands operates from a core concept of “forward thinking,” which they define with five characteristics of integrity, creativity, quality, value, and customer service. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why they were able to keep the company’s head above water during Covid and keep trucking afterwards. Each member of this team delivers a distinct set of skills. Saada started in the footwear business in 2005 at a very young age. With a bit of help, started Esquire Brands and found success quickly. His “positive energy” motto, energy and excitement are infectious while his faith and optimism drive him and others to greater levels of achievement.

In 2019, Saada connected with Nieder, a long-time vendor partner and footwear veteran. Nieder, who started his career at Elan Polo, has a strong sourcing background and a large matrix of agents and factories in China. He possesses a broad knowledge of the market and operations and helped navigate the company through the pandemic. That same year, Saada brought Roccamo on as president. Roccamo started his career in footwear, importing shoes from Italy. In 2004, he sold his company and went to work for Synclaire Brands and rose to senior roles, where he was instrumental in growing their >28

Maci is wearing a bodysuit by Earth Baby, poncho by Ettie + H, pants by Coco au Lait, hat by Tia

Ciabani, shoes by Tip Toey Joey

Opposite: Scarlett is wearing a romper by Little Me, hat by Catya

Hair and makeup: