Footwear Plus | June 2019

JUNE 2019

Western Scene Riding High with Cowgirl Couture

VOLUNTEE R C H E E R Industry Members Do the Right Thing WAR RIOR M OD E No Surrender for This Sit-and-Fit General HE AR TH E EC CO Dave Quel on Why Business is Booming T REND SP OT TI N G Game of Tones

J U N E 2019 FEATU R E S 10 Balance of Power Dave Quel, president of Ecco USA, on how the brand’s natural motion umbrella has secured a position of diversity, stability and growth amid great industry turmoil.

By Greg Dutter 16 Goodwill Hunting Two Ten Footwear Cares volunteering initiative is gathering momentum: more participants, a broader scope of events year-round and greater good achieved.

By Greg Dutter 22 No Surrender Against all odds, Mark Jubelirer, president of Reyers Shoes, on why he will never retreat.

By Greg Dutter 26 Western Stars Gritty, glam and pretty— the new cowgirl couture.

By Aleda Johnson

Caroline Diaco President/Group Publisher Greg Dutter Editorial Director Nancy Campbell Trevett McCandliss Creative Directors EDITORIAL Aleda Johnson Assistant Editor Emily Beckman Assistant Editor Kathy Passero Editor at Large Kirstin Koba Contributing Editor Melodie Jeng Marcy Swingle Contributing Photographers ADVERTISING/ PRODUCTION Jennifer Craig Associate Publisher Laurie Guptil Production Manager Bruce Sprague Circulation Director Mike Hoff Digital Director

DE PA RT M EN T S 4 Editor’s Note 6 This Just In 8 Scene & Heard 20 Trend Spotting

PA G E

26 This page: Miron Crosby boots, Scotch & Soda blouse, Smarteez belt and jacket, bolo tie by Rainbow Unicorn Birthday Surprise, We Love Colors tights.

24 A Note to My Younger Self 36 Shoe Salon 38 Upclose Outdoor 40 Trend Spotting

On cover: Malone Souliers stiletto boot, Tanya Taylor dress, Space Cowboy Boots NYC hat, earrings and belt by Rainbow Unicorn Birthday Surprise.

Photography by Trevett McCandliss; styling by Kiyana Panton; stylist assistant: Tabbytha Ferguson; hair and makeup by Nevio Ragazzini/Next Artists, using makeup by Kevyn Aucoin Beauty@VivianaMartin and hair product by Living Proof and G3; hair and makeup assistant: Brianna Trischitta; models: Tayla/Fenton Model Mgmt., Emily Hazeltine/APM Model Mgmt.

Ana Novikova Office Administration 9THREADS CORPORATE Xen Zapis Founder 1926-2018 Lee Zapis CEO Rich Bongorno Chief Financial Officer Debbie Grim Controller OFFICES ADVERTISING/EDITORIAL

214 W. 39th St., Suite 205 New York, NY 10018 Tel: (646) 278-1550 Fax: (646) 278-1553 editorialrequests@ 9Threads.com CIRCULATION

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FOOTWEAR PLUS ™ (ISSN#1054-898X) The fashion magazine of the footwear industry is published monthly (except for bimonthly April/May and October/November editions) by Symphony Publishing NY, LLC, 214 W. 39th St., Suite 205., New York, NY, 10018. The publishers of this magazine do not accept responsibility for statements made by their advertisers in business competition. Periodicals postage is paid in New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Subscription price for one year: $48.00 in the U.S. Rates oustide the U.S. are available upon request. Single copy price: $10.00.

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2

ED ITOR’S NOT E

Channel Surfing

The change constant CHANGE IS RELENTLESS and inevitable, as 18 million of us who watched the final episode of The Big Bang Theory were reminded recently.

After 12 years and 270-plus episodes even the elevator finally got fixed!

Sometimes change represents a vast improvement. At other times, it’s abrupt and—to borrow another channel surfers’ reference—as unmerciful as a Game of Thrones episode. It can render entire industries obsolete and destroy millions of livelihoods. Conversely, change can provide opportunities to live well and prosper, even if it requires periods of adjustment.

Of late, change seems to be happening at alarming speed. Perhaps it’s this constant chaos that makes us crave respites like The Great British Baking Show.

When not nestled in my apartment binge-watching the latest mustsee series on Netflix with my family, one of the many things I love about living in New York is its constant state of change. The city is in perpetual reconstruction, always refurbishing, remodeling and re-retailing. Walk along any main drag in Manhattan, and you’ll see complete teardowns and build-ups, as well as start-ups and liquidations—all in one block! Entire buildings are reduced to rubble and whisked away seemingly overnight.

New structures sprout like weeds. (The island’s bedrock is fertile ground for concrete and steel.)

My local newspaper, the West Side Rag, keeps a running tab of the latest openings and closings in area retail establishments. For a neighborhood that’s a mere 1.9 square miles in size, the turnover spins like a subway turnstile at rush hour. “Openings & Closings” is one of the paper’s most popular sections. It fuels a steady stream of Bronx cheer sendoffs to those who couldn’t make it here. A handful of commenters welcome the newcomers, but hell hath no fury like Noo Yawkas who don’t take kindly to the recent announcement that, for example, a chi-chi Greek restaurant will replace the family friendly burger joint that served tater tots around the clock. The odds they give the new eatery for survival? Fuhgettaboutit!

Our industry is no stranger to change. Words like “tectonic” and “apocalyptic” pop up often to describe today’s disruptive state of retail.

4

It’s like a Sopranos episode: The question is not if but when the next rubout will occur. No one is safe. Up-and-comers can move quickly and use street smarts to climb the ranks. Power players who want to stay on top are making much-needed changes and infusing new life into their operations.

Take Ecco, for example. Dave Quel, president of Ecco USA and the subject of this issue’s Q&A (p. 10), attributes the Danish brand’s record-setting sales of the past few years to a decision made seven years ago. That’s when product design teams were established in key markets around the world and began to focus solely on their respective consumers’ needs and preferences. Quel says it’s been a game-changer.

Ecco’s relentless drive to innovate has triggered positive change—and our industry can always use more of that. Brands that continually push the envelope usually reap rewards. After all, we’re a society that celebrates Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs.

On the other hand, it’s easy to get lost in a fast-moving current of change and let your core values slip away. In Last Word (p. 22), Reyers Shoes president Mark Jubelirer explains why he’s dug his heels in on offering sizes-and-widths and sit-and-fit service at his Sharon, PA, store. The proud self-described Shoe Dog believes those are pillars worth adhering to, but not for sentimental reasons. Amid the store closings and abandonment of many traditional in-store shopping experiences, the 133-year-old Reyers stands out because of Jubelirer’s steadfast commitment to provide what he believes is a much-needed service to his loyal clientele. His refusal to change to a self-service model is admirable.

Many theoretical physicists believe the constant state of change started with the Big Bang. Some also believe the universe will stop expanding one day and eventually collapse back onto itself in The Big Crunch. Others theorize that this “final change” will trigger a reformation of the universe starting with—you guessed it—another Big Bang. Change is the ultimate constant. Well, that and a rerun of The Big Bang Theory airing on some channel, somewhere in the universe.

Greg Dutter

Editorial Director

NATURAL WALKING. DESIGNED IN AUSTRIA.

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THIS JUST IN

frieze frame The 8th annual Frieze New York art fair served as the ideal backdrop for creative types.

Photography by Melodie Jeng 6

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SCENE & HEARD

more a Vans “historian” than a collector. The Australian’s infatuation with the brand grew out of a broader shoe collection that focused on vintage products with integrity. “I looked for something that I could wear 20-plus years later, and that led me to (discovering) Vans,” he says. “Everything snowballed from there—the California sensibility, punk rock, skate, BMX.” Davies especially became hooked on the “Blue, Red Blue” Era style that renowned skateboarders like Tony Alva sported back in the day. “I don’t think I’ll ever waver from the pivotal moment of Vans’ narrative of skateboarding and So-Cal youth culture,” he says, adding, “I enjoy wearing Vans, not as a collector but as a work of art that you can wear.”

Vans will host a series of “Meet the Waffleheads” activations to celebrate its collectors and customizers around the world. It will include panel discussions and artifacts from those communities. In addition, all fans can submit images through the Vans Family link on Vans.com of their own collections or customized styles to enter for a chance to win a trip to attend a “Meet the Waffleheads” event and showcase their work.

Vans Americas will host a “Meet the Waffleheads” experience at the House of Vans Chicago Nov. 16, 2019.

Vitkus views the campaign as Vans walking its walk. “Instead of launching a traditional ad campaign, we focus on continuing to storytell and provide experiences that deliver on our brand promise,” she says. “Waffleheads highlights our priority of creating meaningful grassroots interactions that build lifetime brand loyalty with newcomers and loyalists alike.” She adds that the campaign shows how the Vans tribe is like no other. “Unlike many collectors, these shoes aren’t kept untouched, sitting on a shelf,” Vitkus says. “Vans fans prefer them worn down, painted on, passed along and rummaged from flea markets. Their collections showcase a picture of individual style, fashion sense and a love for Vans and what it represents: heritage, connection to subcultures and self-expression.”

Vans Celebrates Fanatics MEET THE “WAFFLEHEADS,” seven renowned Vans collectors, customizers and creatives featured in the brand’s new campaign about their fanaticism.

Named after the tread pattern of classic Vans’ styles, the fans range from Henry Davies and his thousands pair-strong collection to Charlene Holy Bear, who incorporates Native American art onto the shoes.

“Waffleheads pays tribute to stories that convey Vans’ rich history of creativity by highlighting individuals whose collections and creative philosophies have authentically defined Vans as a literal canvas to their expression,” says April Vitkus, senior director Global Brand Marketing. “The Waffleheads narrative tells the story of collectors, customizers and creatives who have carved their own path for collecting footwear.”

Like Davies (pictured above), who labels himself

8

FFANY Changes Model IN RESPONSE TO the dramatic retail evolution and consolidation of the past few years, the Fashion Footwear Association of New York (FFANY) has announced a serious of structural changes to better meet the needs of its members. FFANY Executive Director John Heron recently announced that, moving forward, the main purpose of the organization will be to coordinate and communicate a consistent marketplace in New York four times a year—primarily for brands that have showrooms to serve the needs of prominent retailers. In short, it’s John Heron, a shift back to executive director, what FFANY FFANY used to do.

“Over the past few years, much of the focus of the FFANY office has been significantly directed to servicing the needs of the brands that are from outside of New York that come to our market weeks to exhibit in hotels and temporary spaces,” Heron says. “This focus, possibly unintentionally, neglected the needs of the core showroom stakeholders as depleted association resources were directed toward the administrative needs to execute exhibition services.”

As such, FFANY will no longer oversee exhibition management at the Warwick Hotel. Beginning with the August show, those services will be outsourced to a newly formed entity, Footwear Show New York Expo (FSNYE) and headed by former longtime FFANY associate Phyllis Rein.

After 30 years at FFANY, Rein will continue to organize >25

Tradition since 1774.

birkenstock.com

BY

G REG

DU T T E R

June 2019

Balance of Power

Dave Quel, president of Ecco USA, on how the D a n i s h b r a n d ’s n a t u r a l motion umbrella has secured a p o s i t i o n o f d i v e r s i t y, stability and growth amid great industry turmoil.

IN A MARKET where few know which end is up or what domino will fall next, the search for consistency, dependability and, most of all, profitability has never been more intense. Brands able to deliver on those superlatives, season to season and across a breadth of categories, are the industry’s unicorns. They are rare because it’s just super hard to do. Even Nike is a “sneaker company” first and foremost. And while it could surely slap a Swoosh on a pump, it lacks the bandwidth to do so—and be taken seriously. Ecco, in contrast, fits seamlessly into the categories of dress, comfort, golf, outdoor and casual lifestyle (think sneakers) in men’s and (increasingly) women’s. Its overriding national motion design platform focusing on fit, form and function fuels that elasticity. It’s a genuine hybrid approach to shoemaking that magically (think unicorns) enables Ecco to be

10

a player everywhere from pumps to hikers.

The fact that the company owns its tanneries and factories with the majority of design done in-house strengthens a balanced portfolio that is, above all else, consistently profitable for its equally balanced distribution network.

Combine all those ingredients, and that’s the pixie dust fueling Ecco’s gains over the past few years despite strong market headwinds.

Indeed, 2018 was a very good year for Ecco.

The 55-year-old company reported recordsetting sales and profits. The Asian and North American markets led the way, with growth of 13 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

“Last year was an amazing year, and the one before was too,” says Dave Quel, president of Ecco USA. He cites the continuation of “just great products in the pipeline” that are resonating with consumers. “They’ve sold really well, and in a very tough environment,” he adds.

Highlights include Ecco’s rapidly growing sneakers/lifestyle program. Quel singles out the Soft 7 and Soft 8 collections. “They’ve been dominating where we show up at retail now for a few years, especially last spring,” he says. “It just got us off to a great start and the momentum continued through the fall.”

Another highlight: the BIOM Hybrid 3 golf program, which also comes despite a category mired in a sand trap for years. Quel attributes the program’s success to delivering on the Ecco promise: best quality materials and incredible comfort. “Forget about it being a golf shoe, it’s one of the most comfortable shoes you will ever put on your foot,” he claims. And the $200-plus price tag—50 percent higher than the competition—hasn’t been a deterrent either. “That shoe drove a ton of business for us last year,” Quel says. “Our golf business in the U.S. was up over 20 percent.”

Similar success stories can be found across men’s and women’s categories. The ST.1 Hybrid and men’s Vitrus dress launches have resonated strongly—again in a category not growing overall. The ST.1 Hybrid features an enhanced polyurethane cushioning construction and is registering 10- to 15-percent weekly sellthrough at Nordstrom—and they’re priced at $230 to $250, Quel reports. The shoes can be paired with a suit, but offer the comfort and

style versatility to be worn casually. The same goes for the Vitrus collection, a more modern styling that Quel says go just as well with jeans. “That’s what consumers are looking for today—that middle ground,” he says, adding that it’s another example of Ecco’s ability to deliver the next step in a category’s evolution.

“That’s what Ecco does so well,” he says. “We’re authentic and create our own version of what we think will resonate with consumers. We may not succeed every time, but we have had some really nice successes.”

The outdoor category is another example.

Under the umbrella of Outsiders, it includes two versatile collections. Altitude is designed for trekking and light hiking. “It’s not about conquering mountains but to be well-equipped on the trail,” Quel says, noting a key grouping for Spring ’20 is Exohike that features its new Dri Tan leather that greatly reduces water use in the tanning process as well as uses 30- to 40-percent less chrome. “It’s a wonderful sustainability story,” he says. The second group, Vitality, is designed for urban areas.

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The BIOM C Tail, for example, is a fast hiker, available in men’s and women’s, and features Ecco’s new Phorene energy rebound midsoles and Dyneema-bonded leathers.

Perhaps the most noteworthy of Ecco’s recent successes involves women’s. Predominantly a men’s brand in the U.S. since entering the market in the early ’90s, Ecco has made significant strides in the fairer gender. “It may surprise you to know that women’s represents 40 percent of our business in the U.S. right now, and has grown double digits for each of the last five years and will again this year,” Quel says. In addition to casual sneakers, he cites expansion into the wear-to-work market as fueling growth and predicts more with the re-introduced Shape collection this September. “It’s a super-exciting collection that shows our capacity for style designed on a platform of innovative comfort,” Quel says. “Now we have shoes that appeal to daughters, mothers and grandmothers—it’s a good indication that we’re on the right track.”

While Ecco appears to be firing on all cylinders, Quel believes the best is yet to come. When asked where the brand currently stands, his response: “Just scratching the surface.” He cites a huge opportunity in women’s—a demographic that buys three pairs for every one pair that men purchase. “We’ve made some great progress, but we still have a long way to go to capture what we should,” he says. “I think we can maintain our existing distribution, do things the Ecco way and still grow our share by further evolving and getting products right for the U.S. market. Whether it’s golf, outdoor, comfort, dress, etc.—there’s opportunities for growth in each category.”

Ecco’s combined diversified production capabilities, product range and distribution network positions it well amid the current industry turmoil.

“If one geographical area is having a tough year, we have three others having good years,” Quel says. “It enables us to deliver good results fairly consistently.” Of course, the company isn’t entirely immune to the market disruption of the past few years. For example, Ecco took a hit when its largest golf account, Golfsmith and its 140 stores, filed for bankruptcy last fall. But the diversity in its categories and retail channels softened the blow.

“It’s helped us weather this storm, and maybe slightly better than others,” Quel says.

All things industry considered, Ecco’s business is strong. Are you winning at the shoe wall?

I think we win as soon as the consumer puts our shoes on. That’s the moment of truth, and they understand our leather and fluid form stories—they feel it immediately. The difference, over the past 12

few years especially, is the strides we’ve made in style. We’re pushing the modern aspects, which is having a much wider appeal in terms of demographics. We’ve always had the comfort, quality materials and good construction story. That goes back to 1963. But our design is now as appealing as our comfort story. I think we’re hitting in on all cylinders now in terms of the shoes we’re bringing to market. Our partners can count on us, if they share a meaningful portion of their budget, to deliver a return on that investment and trust.

We have the bandwidth to deliver, in good times and bad, profitably.

mold and forms a seamless bond with the upper.

The sole shapes and comfort technologies that can be applied with Fluidform are nearly endless.

Natural Motion is relevant in any of our categories, whether it’s a pump or you walk 18 holes of golf .

As a brand, it means you’re not as boxed in?

If you look at Ecco with a fresh set eyes—how we look today versus how we looked five and 10 years before that—we’re breaking out of that box every day. The Exohike, for example, is totally innovative.

It’s made with the new polyurethane material and the minute I put on a pair I thought, “Oh my God,

OFF THE CUFF What are you reading? I’ve resurrected Good to Great.

One of the premises is who, then what. Meaning, hire for culture and then figure out what we’re all going to do together. Sure, they must have the necessary skills, but one of our strengths is our strong, healthy, passionate culture. It’s top of mind.

What was the last movie you saw? Bohemian Rhapsody on a plane coming home from Denmark. It was great. It connected me to my era as a kid.

What was your first-ever paying job? Pin boy at a bowling alley. After that, it was again at the first place they’d hire me: washing dishes. I eventually graduated to waiter.

If you could hire anybody? There are many talented people in our industry that I hold in high regard, but I’m so inspired by our team that I don’t say, “Boy, I wish this person was working here.”

What’s the smartest business decision you’ve ever made? Being part of the decision for Ecco USA to be an early adopter of ecommerce platforms like Zappos. I remember the internal debate about what ecommerce might do to sales overall, but we decided consumers would want to shop online. I’m glad we went in early and learned our lessons—good and bad—and we’re in the position that we are in today, as it’s a big part of our business.

The universal theme is natural motion. Just how unique is that approach in the market?

Wherever the consumer encounters our brand— on a golf course, a hiking trail or in business or a causal setting—natural motion is underlying every one of those shoes, and our Fluidform technology is the basis of that. Each last is contoured to the shape of the foot and those contours are perfectly preserved when you inject the sole material into a

Who is your most coveted dinner guest? Any hall of fame member of the Pittsburgh Steelers teams of the ’70s.

What are you most proud of? My tenure at Ecco USA. To come in as a sale rep 20 years ago and then, 10 years later, running the company with Ecco an important brand in the industry today...it’s been an incredible journey.

What is your motto?

Perseverance, persistence and tenacity.

That’s very Pittsburgh.

Yup, and watching my favorite team win four Super Bowls is my favorite hometown memory.

how quickly can we put this in every shoe that we make?” That’s coming from a foundation of incredibly comfortable shoes. We’re pushing product innovations that are being accepted by consumers.

Is it innovation driving sales, or does Ecco also have a better sense of what U.S. consumers want?

I think we have a much better understanding of the market. We’re better connected with our

Take your

consumers and much better at delivering products with more appeal.

Yet we haven’t lost our heritage. I think what took us from there to here is a decision we made about seven years ago, and now we’re really seeing the benefits of that. It involved placing product teams in each of our key markets. Our U.S. team is in constant communication with the design team in Denmark through every step of the product development cycle to articulate the specific needs of our market. That’s what allowed us to turn the corner. We’re much more connected as a global company in the branding and design teams than we’ve ever been.

Ecco addressed the Achilles heel of so many Euro comfort brands.

It’s amazing how many have failed to do so over the years—even when they stated they would do just that.

While we’ve been making big strides in adapting to the specific needs of this market, unlike many brands, Ecco came into the U.S. knowing we had to adapt our business model and not the other way around. It goes back to being a profitable brand for our retailers. Since the day we arrived, we’ve sworn by the idea we’re a guest and must adapt to this market’s rules.

We’ve offered the same service levels as our domestic competitors have, and now we’re doing it with design. I take no credit for this, as it was in place when I joined Ecco in 1999.

Do you see the market getting to a point where it’s at least less apocalyptic, or do we still have a way to go with consolidation?

I think we still have a way to go, but I absolutely see it getting to the point where it’s not apocalyptic. The best retailers are making the in-store experience more special and the service level is higher. Our goal through this is to be present in wherever and whenever the consumer chooses to shop, and that’s the evolution that we believe is going on. Consumers want to engage more deeply with brands, and when all this finally shakes out, it really doesn’t matter where they encounter a brand, it matters the experience they have when they do. Whether that’s through a multi-brand partner or though DTC, that’s what we’re working on. We believe we’re well-positioned because we have a great brand story. But it’s about making it seamless as possible.

A consumer comes into a store having heard about a certain shoe from a friend, has researched it online or saw an ad on social media, and it’s how quickly can we get that shoe in their hands. That’s where we’re focusing our efforts and making our investments—getting closer to consumers, understanding how they interact with the brand and telling our story. It’s about being better connected with people who are and could be buying our shoes.

How much might multi-brand, brick-and-mortar stores play a role in this storytelling going forward?

I’m not in the camp that brick-and-mortar is irrelevant and won’t be here in the future. There are different types of consumers, and some like to shop in a multi-brand shoe store to have choices. Overall, I think people want a deeper engagement into brands. We can give them that choice in a Nordstrom, where they’ll see some of the best brands in the world and then, if they want deeper engagement, they can visit one of our stores and see the whole collection or visit us online and learn more of what Ecco is all about. I think that’s more of the future versus a diminishing role of traditional stores. But there’s no doubt the U.S. was over-retailed combined with consumers just choosing to behave in a different way. We have to understand and appreciate that, and just meet them wherever they show up with a great brand experience.

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What about the gripe that DTC equates to lost sales for retailers?

Our expansion into DTC has never been about growing it in such a way that we’d become a 100-percent DTC company or anywhere close. Our

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been pretty stable for the last few years. We really haven’t expanded it. intent is to be further diversified at market. When you work in a wholesale environment exclusively the way Ecco started in this country, you have gatekeepers that stand between our collections and consumers. Those gatekeepers pick what they deem the best SKUs. We want consumers to see the entirety of what Ecco is all about. We’re a unique company that owns tanneries, factories and the majority of the design is in-house. We want people to see and appreciate that. It’s also important to test new products and introduce new brand and service experiences in a mono-brand environment, online and in-store. Our DTC functions as megaphones for Ecco.

It seems the online component of DTC is causing the most consternation among retailers.

Some people prefer to engage and shop that way, but we don’t view DTC as the key driver of our business. It’s a vital component to show the brand in its ideal and most complete form in Ecco stores, concentrated in some good malls around the country, as well as online. Quite frankly, it’s

And those retailers pushing further into private label in response?

I get that. Our preference is to keep DTC and wholesale in balance with the consumer in mind. It isn’t designed to take business away from anyone.

I think the two sides absolutely can coexist, and in some measures consumers are asking that they do.

Another point of contention is having to compete on price with some brands’ DTC channels.

We’re uniquely positioned in that all our channels are under the control on Ecco USA. We’re very careful that we go to market consistently. Retailers won’t find surprises on our website or in our stores.

We’ve never done it, and we won’t. Our brand value always comes first. We’re always going to hold the brand in the highest regard in our DTC. As a former retailer, you get where they are coming from perhaps more so than those who’ve never worked the f loor?

I think the best wholesalers are great retailers who understand the mechanics of retail and what it

takes to be successful and profitable. You have to translate that to the other side of the table, and having that hands-on knowledge of how retail works allows you to deliver that more seamlessly.

You learn what it takes to work 10 hours a day on a sales f loor, putting shoes on people’s feet and understanding how consumers react to the different types of products. What makes a good shoe versus a not-so-good one. You also learn retail math and appreciate the margins a retailer works on and understand what they need from a manufacturer to be successful. That’s what makes you successful on the wholesale side.

What might the typical shoe store look like in 10 years?

If current trends are any guide, we’ll see stores in which brand experience is completely interwoven with the function of helping the consumer buy shoes. Stores increasingly will help to inspire the purchase decision whilst making service the essential element of the consumer experience. For example, last year we introduced Factory Petit at select Nordstrom locations in Southern California, which is a mini-leather factory that enables consumers to design one-off, personalized >39

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GOODWILL HUNTING Tw o Te n F o o t w e a r C a r e s v o l u n t e e r i n g i n i t i a t i v e i s gathering momentum: more participants, a broader scope of events year-round and, best of all, greater good achieved.

BY GREG DUTTER

OW IN ITS seventh year, Two Ten Footwear Cares continues to grow rapidly in scope. No longer confined to April and a single day of company-sponsored activities, the industry-wide volunteering initiative has morphed into a year-round effort involving a broad range of charitable causes and beneficiaries joined by thousands of industry members—from the executive suite to the rank-and-file—working side by side for a greater good.

Perhaps best of all, volunteering is increasingly becoming ingrained into corporate cultures. Once deemed a one-off photo-op or resume enhancer, a company’s volunteer component is now a key element of the business model. It’s why many employees wantto work at and remain with certain companies.

In fact, results from a recent employee engagement survey by Shoes.com, title sponsor of Footwear Cares, showed a strong desire for volunteer events and opportunities that foster new and meaningful relationships between co-workers. “We know that brands are now striving to retain and attract employees by making Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a top priority, which is echoed by our own employees,” says Alex Proelss, senior vice president Brand Marketing & Business Development.

Amy Sweeney, global community outreach manager, Charitable Programs for New Balance, cites numerous studies that speak to the impact of a company’s CSR efforts on employee recruitment and retention, team- and skill-building, leadership development, and benefits to company culture.

“Everyone who works for New Balance says our commitment to giving back is one of the reasons they choose the company and decide to stay,” she says.

“The service projects give them an opportunity to step outside the office and

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get to know their teammates and other associates in new ways. The positive feelings and pride extend back into the workplace and build our culture.”

Sweeney adds, “We know this program’s evolution and growth in recent years is resonating with associates because we have grown 277 percent in hours and 127 percent in unique volunteers since 2012.”

Dani Zizak, vice president Corporate Communications & Social Responsibility for Wolverine Worldwide, reports a similar gathering momentum in the company’s volunteering efforts. She says once employees participate in one of the numerous events held throughout the year—be it environmental clean-up projects, Habitat for Humanity builds, packing goods at food banks and even its finance team helping prepare tax returns for local residents— they’re hooked. “Our employees tell us that when they give back to their local community, they return energized, refreshed and with an increased pride in themselves, their team and Wolverine Worldwide,” Zizak says. “As an organization, we have so much to share with our community beyond financial support—sharing our employees time and talents with the community is a responsibility that we embrace.”

An example is Wolverine’s longtime partnership with the United Way. Zizak says the campaign donation totals increase year-over-year. “We’re far from being the largest employer in Western Michigan, but we’re always in the top three of giving,” she says, crediting, in part, the company’s nontraditional approach to fundraising. “In 2018, we hosted our first annual Pet Parade, complete with costume contest and all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast with company leaders manning the griddle. And our fall festival featured fire pits, a beer tent and Olympic-type games.” Zizak adds, “Our employees are competitive, and it’s great to combine a fun outing with raising awareness and support for our many not-for-profit partners.”

Neal Newman, president of Two Ten, says the industry has long had a strong commitment to giving back, but Footwear Cares has galvanized that goodwill ethos. “We see this trend continuing and deepening over time,” he says. “As more companies increase their engagement with consumers in

things we throw away don’t necessarily go ‘away.’” The many styrofoam cups more meaningful ways, Footwear Cares will continue to grow fast.” Newman and plastic bottles collected reinforced the message our company has been expects the greatest growth opportunities in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, sending to employees for more than a year about living more sustainably. (To San Francisco, Portland and Seattle—where wholesale companies have that end, Vibram has given employees reusable water bottles, mugs, grocery concentrated presences and where the Footwear Cares platform can bring totes and even silicone sandwich bags to reduce plastic waste.) multiple brands and retailers together.

A bonus, Lachambre says, was exploring parts of the city that many Of course, all industry members worldwide are welcome to take part employees didn’t know existed as well as the team building. “It was amazing in Footwear Cares. No project is too small and no good cause unworthy. that so many people showed up on what started out as a cold, rainy Saturday,” Volunteering is an equal opportunity endeavor with projects ranging from she says, noting some carpooled to get to the site and a few drove more than company-specific synergies to personal passions. It’s all good and, best of an hour. “We had people from all, volunteering is infectious. It all areas of the company— encourages other companies to people who might not normally get involved as well as inspires interact—talking and doing employees to volunteer on something about a subject their own time. It’s a win all that’s very important to us.” around, according to Newman.

The volunteering buzz has “Employees love the opportunity also spread through Vibram, to give back, companies use and employees who did and volunteer programs as ways didn’t participate are askto strengthen team spirit and ing about the next opporinternal culture, and comtunity. “The dedication and munity service programs act commitment from this one as market-engagement opporevent has inspired us to add tunities that express corporate more volunteer events to our values,” he says. “Having one calendar,” Lachambre says. heartfelt cause wrapped in volThose include combining unteerism, community services a community-wide blood and giving back will also gain drive through the Red Cross attention and foster loyalty with a shoe drive to benefit among consumers.”

Soles4Souls this summer An active company volunand planning a build for a teering program is simply good local chapter of Habitat for business. This year’s Footwear Humanity this fall.

Cares efforts bear that out: it’s the most projects and the greatest number of participants scheduled so far. It’s picked up right from where it left off on last year’s Volunteering is like exercise: Shoe Carnival and vendor partners pitch in on a new home construction for the record-setting participation the more you do it, the easier Habitat for Humanity chapter in Indiana. To date, the volunteers have helped build 45 homes. figures, according to Maureen it becomes and the better you Rubino, Two Ten’s marketing and get at it. That rule of thumb special events manager. “We’ve certainly applies to the team at already had almost 50 companies join or hold events and have engaged over Shoe Carnival. Led by Tom Vernarsky, a buyer for the Evansville, IN-based 4,000 employees,” she says. Highlights have included the first-ever National family chain, an increasing amount of employees as well as vendor partners Shoe the World Day shoe drive held on March 15. The original goal was to have joined its campaign to build homes for the local Habitat for Humanity collect donated shoes for the homeless population around Boston, but then chapter over the past five years. This year, 85 Shoe Carnival employees have Wolverine Worldwide and Stan’s Fit For Your Feet, a comfort chain based signed up (so far) and 60 volunteers from Skechers, Timberland, Timberland in Milwaukee, WI, expanded the drive’s reach. “More than 1,700 pairs were Pro, Weyco (Florsheim, Stacy Adams and Nunn Bush), Fila, Irish Setter, collected from Boston-area companies alone,” Rubino says. “And families Wolverine, Caterpillar, Dockers, Levi’s and Keen are scheduled to take part from Massachusetts to Michigan to Wisconsin received shoes.” in build days. In addition to donating time and muscle, $116,500 has been Another highlight this year, Rubino says, is tapping into the sustainability raised—up from $40,000 last year. To date, Shoe Carnival’s volunteers have movement and, particularly, Earth Day activities. “Many companies held helped build more than 45 houses for fellow Hoosiers in need. And thanks events that gave back to Mother Nature,” she reports. “Vans, Timberland, to the spike in donation this year, two of the houses built this year will be fully funded by footwear companies. They will be “Footwear Cares” houses.

Vionic, Asics and Two Ten all held events that got employees outside and Vernarsky says the return on the volunteering investment is priceless. taking care of natural areas around them.”

“The families are so grateful and overwhelmed by the financial donations as Vibram Corporation also got into the green is good spirit when it became well as the travel, time commitment and hard work by all of the volunteers,” a first-time sponsor of a local environmental group’s 30th annual Earth Day he says, adding, “Evansville is a small city and Shoe Carnival is a major Cleanup in Worcester, MA. Jennifer Lachambre, document control specialist, employer, so it’s good to get involved in charitable programs.”

Vibram Corporation, says the benefits have been many fold. “Our 15 volunOther events scheduled this year include Shoe Carnival’s annual fundraiser teers picked up more than 25 bags of trash, in addition to collecting a large for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) in September and participile of metal and tires,” she says. “It really brought home the message that

TIPPING POINT

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RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS FITTING A HOMELESS PERSON WITH NEW SHOES: “He started to dance in his new shoes; he was so happy and excited! His feet were finally going to be dry and warm.

It’s amazing to touch someone’s life that way.”

—Megan Sadjak, Stan’s Fit For Your Feet BEING THANKED REPEATEDLY FOR CLEANING THE PARK: “People walking, running and driving stopped to thank us. We even shook hands with the Mayor of Worcester, Joseph M. Petty, who stopped by our location to pass out apples and granola bars.”

—Jennifer Lachambre, Vibram Corporation APPRECIATING THE (GOOD) SIDE EFFECTS: “Volunteering brings out the best in people and is also a great equalizer. You could be working side-by-side with someone you might otherwise not interact with at work, but there you are, working together, to help another. Barriers get broken down; there’s no hierarchy in volunteering. All you’re doing is trying to improve someone’s life or something in your community, for folks that are really no different than you. Volunteering is also the perfect antidote for what may be ailing you—it truly makes you feel better and more rooted in this world!”

—Maureen Rubino, Two Ten VOLUNTEERING GOES VIRAL: “Every one of our vendor partners who works on building homes for Habit for Humanity with us has said the experience inspired them to get involved in their communities. We all get a sense of satisfaction helping someone in need.

—Tom Vernarsky, Shoe Carnival IN THEIR SHOES : “The past four years, Footwear Cares and Shoes.com have partnered with The Children’s Trust to donate shoes and raise awareness for its Step Up for Kids Event in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month. Donated shoes representing confirmed cases of abuse or neglect in Massachusetts over the past year are placed on the State House steps in Boston. It’s one of our most visually striking and moving events each year.”

—Jenny Lamott, Two Ten

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lining with rocks and wood chips) of trails washed out by heavy rains. “The results were amazing due to the number of volunteers we had,” Apodaca says, noting it has inspired smaller projects as well. Like the legal team volunteering at the Food Bank of Santa Barbara for a few hours after a meeting and the procurement team pitching in at the Unity Shoppe to assemble care packages for those in need.

“Employees learn about non-profits that hit their hearts to give back,” Apodaca says. “Passions are different, but the end results and personal satisfaction are the same.” It helps, she adds, that Deckers incentivizes volunteering by compensating employees up to 24 hours a year of paid volunteer time. “It’s a huge benefit, and many employees take advantage of it,” she says.

One need not be a publicly traded company, however, to make a big impact in volunteering. Stan’s Fit for Your Feet is an example of a relatively small company (six stores) that does a lot of volunteering year-round. Efforts From top: Industry members refurbish a hiking trail in includes working regularly with two Portland, OR; Shoes.com employees collect donations for homeless shelters, Hope House of the National Shoe the World Day shoe drive.

Milwaukee and the Repairers of the Breach, as well as donating shoes and socks to many local causes and running its annual Share-A-Pair shoe drives. “Our entire pating in the 100 Men Who Cook fundraiser. company is involved, donating time, money and (The Shoe Carnival team has raised the most shoes,” says Megan Sajdak Holtan, director of donations in the city two years straight.) Then marketing. “We also participate in round-up there’s the internal perks, Vernarsky says. Like campaigns for non-profit organizations in the night before the Habitat home builds. “We the community, such as Children’s Hospital go for pizza and bowling, and always have a of Wisconsin School Room Fund and the great time,” he says. “It’s good team building, Pancreatic Cancer Network of Southeastern and the camaraderie generated makes working Wisconsin.” Sajdak adds, “There’s always a together the next day easy.” way to get involved.”

Michelle Apodaca, spokesperson for Deckers It helps that Stan’s seeks out employees Brands (Ugg, Teva and Hoka One One), agrees for whom volunteering comes naturally. “We that the team building that occurs during its hire individuals that have a true passion about various volunteering efforts is a huge benefit. helping others, be it in our stores or in our “Pictures from the events show hard work, community,” Sajdak says. “Since we’ve woven teamwork and big smiles,” she says. “All of the in service projects—such as each store supvolunteers ask when the next event is scheduled, porting a food basket for a specific family over so they could participate again.” the holidays—our team is used to giving back Deckers’ volunteer projects this year so far and thinking about the community outside have involved 100 employees participating in our doors.” Connecting the efforts to Footwear a range of good causes. Rise Against Hunger, a Cares, Sajdak adds, gives national exposure food packing service, saw the team put together to what the 70-year-old business is doing on 25,000 meals in one hour. Another involved a local level. “It shows shoepeople are there Deckers’ annual Backyard Collective, where to help others and pay it forward,” she says, employees partnered, this time, with The noting that giving back to the community is Conservation Alliance, Ventura Land Trust, central to Stan’s mission. “We’re so thankful Toad & Co, Patagonia and REI to eradicate for the support and the ability to flourish in invasive species in the Ventura River as well Milwaukee, and it’s important to give back.” as nearby restoration (weeding, hoeing and

CSR to take on the role of Community Connection coordinator and lead efforts in their office. “We want to provide more resources and opportunities for our associates to make a difference—from Boston to England to Footwear Cares volunteering projects run the gamut—from a handful Indonesia and beyond,” she says. of employees pitching in at a local charity for a few hours to a corporate Under Armour’s volunteering efforts are also on a worldwide scale. Last wide platform involving thousands of employees worldwide working on month, the company kicked off Global Armour Day, involving activities projects year-round. Like New Balance, for example. Sweeney says the focused on strengthening the health and wellness of local communities company’s Global Volunteer Week service projects align with the New and training its teammates (i.e. volunteers). This spring, Armour Day will Balance Foundation’s mission: to drive change in global communities with take place in 30 cities in 14 countries, including an enduring commitment to preventing childhood Pittsburgh, Moscow, Guangzhou, Buenos Aires obesity and championing the future success of today’s youth. and Sydney. Projects include volunteering at Volunteering efforts this year by New Balance Family House to provide housing, emotional supinclude leading fitness and sports clinic activities port and other services for families with children for kids; working on farms that raise food to prowho are terminally ill; recycling soap collected vide greater food justice and access to underserved from various hotel partners and redistributing it families; preparing healthy meals at the Boys & to disadvantaged families with Soap Cycling in Girls Club, local food banks and soup kitchens; Hong Kong; building 70 custom skateboards for and helping prepare summer camps by painting, foster children through the Oregon Department building, landscaping, etc. “We also make blanof Human Services; and planting trees in urban kets for newborns from disadvantaged families areas with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. and sports equipment kits for local schools and Stacey Ullrich, senior director of Global New Balance volunteers packing comfort kits for the charities,” Sweeney says, adding that approximately Philanthropy for Under Armour, reports the American Red Cross to distribute to disaster victims.

2,200 associates from 30 New Balance offices Armour Day at the company’s headquarters and nearly all U.S.-owned stores are expected to in Baltimore, MD, saw 2,000 employees conparticipate in about 250 projects this year. Sweeney notes the expansion tribute 6,000 hours to advance the mission of 20 organizations serving of its Community Connection Volunteer Program and Give Back benefits nearly 20,000 residents. Additionally, 60 teammates are now trained to to Canada and the UK this year are helping expand its volunteer efforts. It coach local youth sports teams and 360 others are ready to respond when an involves identifying associates who have relevant skill sets and passion for emergency arises. Ullrich says teammates are incentivized by receiving >37

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LA S T W O R D

Field General

NO SURRENDER A g a i n s t a l l o d d s a n d a l l c o m e r s , M a r k Ju b e l i r e r, president of Reyers Shoes, on why he will never retreat.

By Greg Dutter

I say Amazon and you say? Blood-sucking EVERYTHING IN THE old steel town of vampire. Vlad the Impaler. Lucifer. Common Sharon, PA, seems to be shrinking. Jobs, Enemy #1. income, businesses and population have been on steady downward trajectories since Is this, in fact, the retail apocalypse and the steel mills stopped belching smoke Jeff Bezos is the anti-Christ? My assumpinto the surrounding skyline—a good tion is that there will always be a form of kind of pollution that enabled locals to retail, as there will always be wholesale. shop regularly and confidently. For years, The landscape changes with the challenges.

Reyers grew exponentially thanks to the If a store goes out of business, it will have town’s prosperity. In fact, it grew way crossed its own event horizon and met its beyond Sharon, evolving into America’s own particular apocalypse. Every other shoe largest shoe store (currently at 36,000 store owner in our small town would likely square feet) and for many years drew 1,000 have claimed that they were destroyed by busses annually filled with shoppers from the retail apocalypse named Harry Jubelirer, as far away as Canada and Kentucky to my father. But is Jeff Bezos the prime mover shop an inventory that was Amazon-like of today’s retail apocalypse? You betcha. back when that was just the name of the Mark Jubelirer in his element. world’s largest river.

Your dad was a Jeff Bezos of his time? In Sharon, PA, yes. When my But times have changed. Reyers might still lay claim to America’s largfather bought the then 1,200-square-foot Reyers from Carl Reyer in 1952, est brick-and-mortar shoe store, but up against the endless inventory the store carried only women’s narrows—its niche since 1886. There were of online dealers (both retail and wholesale), the store has been forced six other family-owned shoe stores in the downtown area at the time, each to rely more on two other pillars of differentiation: a vast selection of hard-to-find sizes and world-class service. It’s just the latest tactic that specializing in various niches. Everyone had their own piece of the shoe third-generation purveyors Jubelirer and his brother, Steve, have taken pie. But Harry was raised at the knee of his father, who ran a shoe store in in a never-ending war to keep the 133-year-old, family-owned business Pittsburgh. He was taught to embrace change and always move fast. He alive and well. immediately added medium widths, and it doubled his business. He then Below, Jubelirer shoots straight on a range of topics, including mortal added wides, kids’ and men’s. He also added brands that competitors carenemies, old war stories, new strategies and rallying cries. He is one of ried. The fight over Florsheim was epic. The label was firmly established a dwindling few great independent shoe retailing generals, holding firm and exclusive in the area to a dominant and highly respected retailer who in his beloved Sharon. Jubelirer’s valor serves as inspiration to all those owned nine stores. But the owners of Florsheim recognized that this ambisit-and-fits still bravely battling on. tious upstart was to be taken seriously and gave my father license to carry the brand. He stole customers from that day forward. While Harry was a What one word best describes your current shoe retailing philosogreat disruptor, the larger retail landscape then was stable: work hard, fill-in phy? Ammunition. Independents are in a life-and-death struggle against to quick sellers, keep windows fresh, provide good service, and everybody powerful interests aligned against us on all sides. So when a customer did relatively fine. Sure, there were skirmishes, but you could see what was enters your store, you need ammunition to fight the fight: desirable coming at you. You could respond with equal force. The battlefields were product in the colors and styles that will excite the customer, sizes that level. Not so today. fit, world-class service and prices they’re willing to pay. Because it’s war.

Independents like us are surrounded by Godzilla (Amazon). The beast Meaning? By definition, businesses that are still open have survived all offers free shipping, endless merchandise and prices at least as good as previous threats. Their levels of disruption have been manageable. But yours, and they’re open every minute of every day. make no mistake, Godzilla is newly risen and determined to breathe his fire

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Reyers Shoes, America’s largest shoe store at 36,000 square feet and 133 years young, is the heart and sole of Sharon, PA.

upon you. The only way we can fight back is to show every customer who crosses our threshold that we will treat them better than Godzilla. Reyers has always stood on three legs: hard-to-find sizes, competitive prices and world-class service. Our continuing ability to provide these engenders deep loyalty among our clientele, and has for generations. Our staff is second to none, and our customers have come to know them personally. We are of, by and for our community. In this sense, we’re the same as many momand-pop shoe stores where a good selection, great fit and caring service, while hard to provide, are increasingly rare. To the extent that customers increasingly cannot find satisfaction in their shopping, that’s what is wrong with retail today.

Care to offer any possible solutions? Keep fighting. Each store owner is his best general. The survivors already understand what has kept them in the arena. I have nothing to teach them; I can only remain curious, listen and learn.

I say brick-and-mortar retail and you say? Tougher every day; love it anyway.

I say direct-to-consumer and you say? Those are my customers, and I say it strongly!

I say private label and you say? If an independent has the wherewithal to establish private label, I say good for them. If it’s a private label in a department store, I say it’s a con job because it’s another link in the chain of our disadvantage. Independents rarely have the buying power to establish low first cost relations with factories. We can buy some cartons, but we can’t buy a pallet.

Despite endless challenges, why are you optimistic about your business?

I’m optimistic because my brother and I just met with our accountant, who said, “You’ll be okay for the next six months.” Six months will pass and, if history is any indication, she’ll say it again. Eventually, six months upon six months adds up to years and decades. Reyers is 133 years young. We’ll keep on taking it another six months at a time for as long as we can.

What are your goals for the rest of this year? Same as always and what our father preached: “Take care of the customer and everything else will take care of itself.” We firmly believe that. We just try to do it better every day.

What might Reyers look like in five years? Same as always. Our clientele see us as an institution, a known quantity and a destination where they’ll

always find a superb collection of modern and exciting footwear, sizes not commonly found elsewhere and a staff who knows what to do. We’re problem solvers for our customers who have nowhere else to turn. They tell us this all the time—as they leave our store with a new pair of shoes and a smile.

What are you most proud of in terms of Reyers? We owe our ability to remain relevant in our community completely to our staff. We take our greatest pride in them.

I say Sharon, PA, and you say? The tiny town that brought us to the dance.

I say shoe salesman and you say? Everyone in our salesforce is knowledgeable about product, capable of solving customers’ problems and eager to do so every day. Yet one salesman has stood out from all the others: Larry Joltin. In a 1984 nationwide contest, he was named the “world’s best shoe salesman.” He could wait on anybody, and he would wait on everybody. He could service six customers at a time! He sold $500,000 worth of shoes annually—that’s in ’80s dollars! Larry would take bites of his lunch in the stockroom in between servicing customers. He just had a fire in his belly to be the absolute best at selling shoes. You can’t teach that. He appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and Charles Kuralt parked his massive bus in front of Reyers and interviewed him for his Sunday morning show.

As a veteran Shoe Dog, is there anything about this business that surprises you anymore? When I first came into the business full-time, after college in the mid ’70s, I tangled with a new way to market us on TV. I learned all about that. I also learned to be fluent in all aspects of our business. I spent time as a cashier. I even learned how to repair the NCR cash registers when they blew a gasket. Over the ensuing years, new speed bumps presented themselves—ones my dad never had to contend with, like credit cards, phone systems, lawyers, policy handbooks, employee health care programs, etc. It was unrelated to trimming windows, inventory management and selling shoes, but I mastered them as best as I could. Then came computers, the internet, websites and social media. While I have yet to learn how to ring up a sale on these new-fangled cash registers, much less fix one, I rely on my co-workers for that. Likewise, I rely on my co-workers to know the benefits and consequences of social media and about the latest software and phone systems. I’m reminded daily of my ignorance on these matters, and I’m no longer surprised by how dumb I am. Yet I take solace that some aspects of our beloved sit-and-fit business will never change and that I can still sell a mean pair of shoes. •

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A N OT E T O M Y Y OU N G E R S E L F

DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’ R e n o w n e d s n e a k e r d e s i g n e r , D ’ Wa y n e E d w a r d s , f o u n d e r o f P e n s o l e F o o t w e a r D e s i g n A c a d e m y, r e f l e c t s o n h i s d r e a m j o b and passing the opportunity on to others.

DEAR D’WAYNE, We didn’t get the job at Foot Locker in the Fox Hills mall—again! After six tries, we gave it our best shot, but maybe they knew we only wanted to work there for the employee discount.

This past year was tough. Reebok passing on hiring us because, at age 17, we’re too young. Mama enduring her twelfth back surgery and told she’ll never walk fully upright again. Our guidance counselor telling us, “No black kid from Inglewood, California, will ever become a footwear designer.” Plus the fact that we can’t even afford college.

This note, however, is confirmation that the condolence card Mama gave us right after our brother Michael passed away will serve as the inspiration to change our lives. It stated: “Believe in yourself—in the power you have to control your own life, day to day.

Believe in the strength that you have deep inside, and your faith will help show you the way. Believe in tomorrow and what it will bring, and let a hopeful heart carry you through. For things will work out if you trust and believe—there’s no limit to what you can do!”

D, it sounds cheesy that a 25-cent card had such an impact, but it will. We always believed. Remember all the times we entered TV Guide competitions to draw Tippy the Turtle? We were only 12!

Remember when we sketched sneakers on 3 x 5 index cards, instead of using them to study for English tests? Remember when we customized our Nikes with green shoe dye and duct tape so they’d match our Inglewood High School uniforms?

Remember the countless times we dreamed of becoming a sneaker designer for Nike and would sketch versions of their styles in English and drafting classes? We believed one day we’d become a sneaker designer—and we eventually do!

It may seem like an impossible dream right now, but in just a year and a half after graduating high school, that same Foot Locker in the Fox Hills mall will carry the L.A. Gear “Street Hiker”—designed by us! We did it! Our dream came true! But this is just the beginning of our sneaker design career. We have not heard of these guys yet, but we’ll design shoes worn by hip hop legends Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, Puffy, Snoop, Nas and Dr. Dre—all before our 25th birthday!

It gets better. We’ll design for Nike—for real this time! Remember those “AJ2” Jordans we designed for fun in high school? Well, we’ll design the “Nu Retro 2,” 12 years later. It means we’ll meet the legend

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himself, Michael Jordan! In fact, we’ll hang out with MJ over the next 10 years! Crazy, right?

D, we’re truly blessed. We’re living our dream and have traveled to more than 40 countries doing what we love. We design sneakers for future hall of fame athletes, like Derek Jeter, Carmelo Anthony and Roy Jones Jr. Our shoes are worn during six Olympic medal victories!

It’s hard to believe that a young, black kid from Inglewood, without a college education, beats the odds. Sadly, a lot of kids like us never do.

Too many aren’t inspired to chase their dreams or believe in themselves.

That’s why I’m proud to inform you that we decide to do something about it. After 23 years of living our dream, we walk away from everything and open the Pensole Footwear Design Academy. (Pensole is a mashup of ‘pen,’ short for the yellow No. 2 pencil and ‘sole,’ in honor of the footwear industry that blessed us with the life we have.)

It’s the school we wished we could have attended. And while teaching may not pay as well, it impacts lives in a way that’s far more rewarding than money.

Plus, we’ll be teaching at some of the best schools in the world, including the ArtCenter College of Design, Parsons School of Design, MIT and Harvard.

Pensole, consists of an amazing family of dedicated and talented people working to provide life-changing experiences for students. We work with the top brands.

We’ve placed more than 400 students in jobs! The best part? Tuition is free for most students, and that’s largely thanks to that chain that didn’t hire us back in high school! Yep, Foot Locker partners with us! We finally get a job at Foot Locker! Our Foot Locker x Pensole classes give young kids in financial need an opportunity to work in the industry. To date, 30 students have secured jobs at leading brands—and that’s just in three years!

D, much more awaits us in life. In the meantime, take solace knowing that our sneaker designer dreams come true—as well as for many young kids like us around the world. So tomorrow go to the Foot Locker in the Fox Hills mall and thank them for inspiring our future and helping other kids fulfill their dreams. Also, take pride knowing that our designs will be sold at those stores and many others worldwide for the next 29 years and counting. That feeling of accomplishment never gets old!

Love you, D.

SCENE & HEARD

Naot Site Lets Retailers Sell AT A TIME when just about every brand is selling directto-consumer via their websites—often to the ire of retail partners who consider those lost sales—Naot’s new site is designed so select retailers can capture those sales. The decision solves two immediate issues: consumers are finally able to buy on Naot. com and the brand’s retailers aren’t cut out of the sale.

“We have thousands of people visiting our site weekly and had been receiving complaints from some that they couldn’t buy,” says Ayelet Lax Levy, vice president of U.S. Operations for Naot. “This will allow us to present the brand with a clearer and more complete message as well as allow some of our independent retailers to capture those sales.”

Levy adds that the site aims to foster a relationship between consumers and participating retailers, which may encourage them to visit those

continued from page 8/FFANY Changes Model and produce the shows for those exhibitors. Rein assures it will be business as usual with possibly a few lower costs due to improved efficiencies. “FSNYE will continue to preserve the footprint and the vibe exhibitors expect of FFANY Market Weeks,” Rein says. “The flexibility for stabilization of costs and by reducing show fees for multiple rooms and suites are positives.” She adds that buyers should expect similar consistencies as well as improvements. “Personalized customer service will be offered to assist the retail community during their stay in New York,” she says.

The same goes for FFANY, according to Heron. “The go-forward mentality is to create and communicate a consistent and reliable marketplace in New York for the core membership, i.e. the companies that have significant and permanent presence here and are the primary stakeholders in the association,” he says. In addition, Heron says FFANY will focus on being an information hub and clear collective voice for the New York footwear community, and to provide stewardship of the FFANY Shoes on Sale charitable event and efforts.

Heron believes the changes will be a win-win for FFANY members and show attendees. “If we serve our primary members well while outsourcing exhibition services to a reliable and capable operator; the FFANY marketplace will continue to be vibrant, the retailer attendance will increase and the entirety of the FFANY membership will benefit,” he says, adding that the changes had to be made. “Continuing the status quo in a rapidly evolving environment usually means being left behind—change was not only inevitable, but it was needed.”

stores. “The idea is it helps everyone’s business,” she says.

Beyond the site being good for business, Levy believes it’s just the right thing to do. “Our independent retailers have helped build the brand; they’re the ones that have supported Naot for so many years and are integral to our business,” she says. “We’ve promised that we would not compete with them, like most of our competitors are doing, and we’re going to continue to stay true to that promise.”

How retailers are selected depends on a few factors, including relationship longevity and extent of the brand presence in those stores.

“Retailers who show a significant part of our collection will be a key part of the criteria,” Levy says. As for which retailer gets a particular sale, that’s determined by geographic proximity. “The overall strategy is to increase the reach of the retailers in their areas,” she says. A bonus is retailers don’t have to incur the costs of stocking and only pay for shipping those purchases. Last but not least are the site’s social media perks. “We’re allowing consumers to interact directly with us and retailers in a unique way,” Levy says. “It fosters brand engagement where we, our retailers and our consumers all get to know each other better. Everybody benefits.”

EVA MIDSOLE

888.894.2668 | twistedx.com

Irregular Choice Texas-themed boots, Mola Walker blouse, American Apparel bandeau, sheer skirt by Sienna Li, We Love Colors blue tights.

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PHOTOGRAPHY

BY TREVETT MCCANDLISS

STYLING B Y K I YA N A PA N T O N

G L A M , G R I T T Y A N D P R E T T Y— T H E N E W C O WG I R L C O U T U R E .

Snake print mules by Restricted, Sienna Li top, Smarteez pleated skirt, hat by Space Cowboy Boots NYC, We Love Colors socks.

Opposite: Thierry Rabotin croc print boots, Scotch & Soda top.

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Croc cowboy boots by Seychelles, QL2 mustard suit, Suncoo shirt, sunglasses

by Rainbow Unicorn Birthday Surprise. Yuul Yie mules, Scotch & Soda suit, Smythe sweater, hat by Katarina Hats, watch by Rainbow Unicorn Birthday Surprise.

Opposite: Katy Perry Collection pink croc bootie, Smythe plaid dress, Tosca Blu belt, Wolford fishnets, sunglasses by Kaleos.

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Left to right: Durango boot, ankle boot

by All Black, Smarteez fringe jacket, Manoush sweater, hat by Katarina Hats, Space Cowboy Boots NYC bolo tie.

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Butter metallic boots, Nit.Ka sweater, Scotch & Soda top, hat by Katarina Hats, We Love Colors socks. Opposite: boot by Twisted X, Manoush dress, Mola Walker vest, bolo tie by Rainbow Unicorn Birthday Surprise; Suncoo dress, Mola Walker fringe top, earrings by Woll Jewelry.

Hair and makeup by Nevio Ragazzini/Next Artists, using makeup by Kevyn Aucoin Beauty@VivianaMartin and hair product

by Living Proof and G3; hair and makeup assistant: Brianna Trischitta; stylist assistant: Tabbytha Ferguson; models: Tayla/Fenton Model Management, Emily Hazeltine/APM Model Management.

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EDITOR’S PICKS

Katy Perry Mackin J

MIKE LOPRIORE ITALIAN SHOEMAKER MIKE LOPRIORE got his start in the business at an early age—really early! At age 5, he began helping his father sell shoes at an outdoor market. His father, following an accident in the mid-’80s that left him without a job, quickly discovered he had a knack for the women’s shoe biz and, after only a year, opened his own store, Giada (named after his newborn daughter), and launched an eponymous collection. “He knew how to listen to his customers and understand what they needed,” says Lapriore, who has worked alongside his dad for more than 30 years.

The father/son duo work in unison to carry on traditional Italian shoemaking techniques while delivering on what the modern customer wants. “I grew up living and breathing footwear, and much like my father, I have learned the importance of getting to know our customers,” Lopriore says. The brand’s signature timeless design aesthetic is dictated not by trends but by how customers live, what they enjoy and how shoes can become part of their daily lives. “We create modern classics and then seek to interpret our materials into something sexy, vibrant and adventurous at really accessible prices,” he says.

Each collection starts from the ground up, choosing the right materials and imagining how it can be shaped as an extension of the foot. Lopriore draws inspiration from “all the things that make life beautiful,” like art, music, architecture and nature to encourage women to express themselves.

For Fall ’19, Lopriore has bucked the neutral design palette (in his mind dreary) typical of such seasonal collections. “Fall is often seen as a prelude to winter and associated with cooler, gray weather, and we wanted to infuse our collection with pops of color, texture and patterns,” he says. Ranging from hardy lace-ups with crystal encrusted or patterned gussets to sleek ankle boots in python skin or red button details, the collection adds a touch of dazzle to outfits. “The season does not have to be somber or lifeless,” Lopriore says. —Aleda Johnson Who is the quintessential Michele Lopriore woman? She is every woman: creative, an entrepreneur, a professional, a homemaker—but with the verve and confidence to express herself in what she wants to wear.

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Dr. Scholl’s

Thierry Rabotin

Yuul Yie

HI S S Y F I T Designers go wild with snake print.

How would you describe the brand’s overall aesthetic? We approach our designs first and foremost with a sense of creating timeless shoes. We don’t concern ourselves much with what forecasters say is going to be trendy.

of creating their brands before social media became a source of manic self-promotion.

Giorgio Armani grew his company through dedication and hard work. He’s an ambassador for helping show the world the artistry of Italian design.

Do certain styles sell better in different regions of the world? Life has become so global that style is more universal. That said, customers still respond to certain styles based on their cultures or careers.

Still, I like to think we encourage women to express themselves however they please.

What’s it like working alongside your father? We’re best friends. We can talk about any issue over dinner or on a road trip and together figure out the best solution. Working beside him has always been a source of joy and pride. I feel privileged to grow and learn by example from a man of such integrity and dedication.

What do you love most about designing? It starts with the materials. I have a visceral reaction to the feel and scent of leather. Whenever I walk through our factories and design studios, I suddenly start imagining a world of possibilities of what we can create!

Any designers you admire? I’ve always admired those who came from the purity

Who is your dream collaboration partner?

We’d love to collaborate with Alice + Olivia.

What’s your favorite Michele Lopriore shoe? I’m partial to heels and, at the moment, it’s the Victoria. It’s a mid-heel with a buckled strap and a cropped decollete top line. It’s a very modern take on a classic—it’s very Michele Lopriore.

E D I TO R ’ S P I C K S P H OTO G R A P H Y BY T R E V E T T M CC A N D L I S S

D E S I G N E R C H AT

continued from page 19 32 hours of paid time off to volunteer. “Some of the most popular areas include coaching youth sports, mentoring, serving dinner at the Ronald McDonald House and working in schools.”

Under Armour’s volunteering scorecard so far this year is impressive. For example, 500 kids will receive a new bike, helmet and training; 1,400 kids will explore creative expression with new puppet show kits; 2,500 kids will receive a lunch box and snacks; 1,200 kids will have a battalion buddy to hug when their military member parent is deployed; 125 families will be greeted at their new home made by teammates; 150 families will receive fresh produce from the container gardens created by teammates; and 3,000 animals will receive blankets for a cozy transport. Ullrich adds that doing all this good is good for Under Armour.

“The biggest takeaway in our most recent engagement survey is that our teammates are very proud of the company, specifically the connection to our commitment to diversity and inclusion, and our sense mission to give back,” she says.

building a foundation around shared company and employee values.

An example is Bearpaw’s support of women’s causes. For the third straight year it will join Weave, the primary provider of crisis intervention services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Sacramento County, CA, as a sponsor of its Walk a Mile fundraiser. Male participants march in heels, helping bring awareness to end violence against women. Funds raised assist critical crisis intervention services for victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse in the local community.

Frequency of a variety of smaller volunteering efforts is another way to make a big impact.

Honeywell Retail Group, (Original Muck Boot Company, Quoddy and Xtratuf ), has been doing just that. The Muck team recently teamed with Vertical Harvest, an organization that provides inclusive employment for people with different abilities by growing food in vertical greenhouses in urban areas. “We outfitted employees with Muck Boots, which are perfect for that type of environment,” says David Mesicek, head of marketing and ecommerce. Honeywell also uses trade shows as an opportunity to impact local communities.

“We’ve developed custom branded items that can be offered to attendees for donations to local nonSmall volunteering projects can have just as big of profit organizations,” he says. “For the Fred Hall an impact. Bryce Sakach, marketing and special show this spring, we sold custom Xtratuf t-shirts events coordinator for Two Ten, cites the recent to benefit Rollo Kids, a Southern California nonexample of a cold, rainy January day in Portland, profit organization that arranges for local youth to OR, where the Forest Park Conservancy apprecitake part in marine awareness fishing trips.” For ated every single volunteer that Footwear Cares the upcoming Outdoor Retailer show, Honeywell brought together to make trail improvements. is partnering with Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) Employees from National Shoe Travelers, Van to create an experience at its booth that will raise Gasse Consulting, +39, Vibram and Two Ten took funds for one of the organization’s community part in the effort. Together, the team improved gardens. A key aspect of Honeywell’s volunteer an area loved by thousands of local residents. strategy involves charitable causes that could “Whether used for running, walking, bird watchuse its products. “We develop technologies that ing or family time, our volunteers understood the keep people safe and build lasting solutions for a importance of rolling up their sleeves to keep the sustainable world, and implement them into comarea pristine and thriving,” Sakach says. munity service and conservation efforts,” Mesicek Volunteering starts with individuals that then says, adding the company also contributed to the snowballs, adds Sakach. “We wouldn’t have a From top: The annual Footwear Cares event that places donated shoes on the steps National Shoe the World Day shoe drive. volunteer program if individual employees didn’t of the Massachusetts State House to raise It’s all good for companies and individuals who take time out of their busy schedules to give back,” awareness about child abuse and neglect; take part in Footwear Cares. “Volunteering is one he says. “Many large-scale events—like those done Bearpaw’s John Pierce and Tom Romeo at a of the best ways to team build, and it’s always good

by Timberland, New Balance, Under Armour and (high heels) charity walk in support of a battered women’s shelter; Prepping meals at to get people out of the office and collaborate on Vans—are created by relatively small CSR teams.

God’s Love We Deliver in New York. challenges that aren’t related to their day-to-day They plan, coordinate and execute events that tasks for a greater good,” Mesicek says. Adds impact communities around the globe. Without Proelss, “Footwear Cares has been instrumental these small-scale teams, many projects would be in creating the groundwork to make Shoes.com more socially responsible left incomplete.” and community driven within the industry, and it increases and encourProelss of Shoes.com agrees that no volunteer project is too small when ages cross-functional collaboration across the company.” Sweeney of it comes to getting involved. “It can be something as simple as a shoe or New Balance echoes the win-win outcome of volunteering. “Our associmonetary donation,” she says. In fact, starting small can get a project off ates’ efforts help bring the New Balance giving mission to life and deepen on the right foot and grow from there. To help move that process along, our commitment to leading a purpose-driven business,” she says. Its Shoes.com has created ShoeCrew, a culture/employee engagement comefforts combined amount to no small potatoes. To date, New Balance mittee focused on creating charitable opportunities to bring different has donated more than $100 million to charities worldwide. departments together to bond. Upcoming projects include working at the On that note, there’s no time like the present to start volunteering.

Girls on the Run Great Boston End-of-Season 5K; a beach clean-up day in To join a Two Ten Footwear Cares event or learn how to start your own Boston; and a shoe donation drive in support of St. Francis House Boston project, visit www.twoten.org. • men’s shelter. As for choosing the types of project, Proelss recommends

E V E RY V O LU N T E E R C O U N T S

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U P C L O S E OU T D O O R

Hitting Refresh Minnetonka rejuvenates favorites in Spring ’20 collection.

Next Level Hybrid Ventex debuts Drymile, a sock-meetssneaker multi-purpose shoe.

Foldable, waterproof, breathable and lightweight as well as durable, versatile and comfortable, Ventex’s Drymile shoe offers the best of socks and sneakers rolled into one. The all-purpose, all-in-one design is aimed at creating a new footwear category that closes the gap between rain boots, sneakers and socks—affordably, at $99 suggested retail.

Rick Chi, founder and CEO of Ventex, creator of Drymile, says it’s a true hybrid construction between sneakers and waterproof socks. The upper is knitted by a sock machine while the rest is constructed as a performance shoe.

“We call it socks to make a point that our shoes are so light—250 grams per shoe—and can be stored conveniently in winter jacket pockets and backpacks, or you can buckle it to your pants or any bag thanks to its unique pro buckle folding design,” he says. “Drymile is truly a hybrid.”

As compared to other multi-purpose performance footwear on the market, Chi says a key point of differentiation is Drymile’s waterproof aspects. “Most of the Vibram FiveFingers or minimalist shoes are limited to dry terrain and, unless you don’t mind your feet wet, are more of a spring/summer item,” he says. “We offer an all-season option, as Drymile performs well in rain and snow conditions.”

Chi’s epiphany for Drymile came during a ski trip to Japan. He was vexed by the limitations of the waterproof socks he was wearing, particularly when he removed his ski boots and struggled to walk across rough terrain. “Even though the water didn’t penetrate my socks, they were still wet on the outside, so when I tried to put my boots back on it was very difficult and uncomfortable,” he says. With years of experience working in the waterproof materials industry, Chi set out to address his own needs. “There are good waterproof socks, but your shoes will get wet,” he says. “There are good waterproof shoes too, but they cost a fortune and are made with tough materials and water always gets in at the ankle.”

Launched as a Kickstarter campaign, Chi plans to begin selling Drymile to wholesale accounts early next year. “Our main targets will be ski/snowboarding specialty, sporting goods and ski resorts,” he says, noting the brand will make its trade show debut at the ISPO show in Munich, Germany, this January. “The potential of this product is unlimited, and part of the fun is challenging customers to explore and create applications on their own,” Chi adds. —Greg Dutter 38

MINNETONKA IS OFFERING customers a breath of fresh air for Spring ’20 with aesthetic and technology updates to tried-and-true classics. “We’re embracing our deep heritage and celebrating it by bringing freshness, comfort and fun into the collections,” says Sandra Aris, head of design.

The Prism collection is the embodiment of contemporary heritage, taking traditional Minnetonka colors and patterns and mixing them with athletic comfort and design cues. Take the Silverthorne sandal, Minnetonka’s top-selling summer style. While maintaining the braided details and silver embellishments central to the design, the new iteration comes in shades of bright pink, orange, lime, red and teal. “It’s a very vibrant color palette screaming free time, vacation and having fun,” Aris says, noting the more summer affordable price point ($35 SRP) makes it a great emotional buy for a summer purchase or in a resort gift shop.

Continuing the modern updates theme is the decidedly athletic take on comfort for the entire collection. While still using signature materials like suede, moosehide, deerskin and leather, Minnetonka is swapping the Kilty and Thunderbird mocs’ iconic rubber nub sole for a fully molded EVA one. The Silverthorne is getting a similar update, with a sportier, lightweight EVA sole instead of the original padded version.

“We’re bringing some comfort elements from the sports industry that mix with bright colors and white trims to appeal to a demographic we might not have today,” Aris says, adding that she expects the updates will be noticed at Outdoor Retailer, where buyers are already familiar with the trend of blending heritage with a more modern aesthetic and technologies.

One thing not changing is Minnetonka’s dedication to handcrafted craftsmanship, which it has been a hallmark of the brand since its debut in 1946. With the Prism collection, there may be fewer hand pieces, but everything from the shoemaking perspective that is touched by people keeps with its traditional manufacture processes in the company’s factory in the Dominican Republic. “We’re merging modern and heritage not only aesthetically, but on the shoemaking side as well,” Aris says.

“Minnetonka is all about self-expression and feeling good with who you are, and the Prism collection gives our fans a real rainbow of ways to show their true colors.” —Aleda Johnson

Muddy Marriage Spartan and Craft Sportswear team on obstacle course race shoe.

SPARTAN, THE WORLD’S largest obstacle course race (OCR) and endurance brand, and Craft Sportswear have created the Spartan RD Pro by Craft, a shoe designed to address and advance the needs of those athletes. Key features include Hydrain technology that enables athletes to traverse any water obstacle and transition to dry ground seamlessly and an OBSTA-Tech outsole system that provides traction on varying terrains while a reinforced midfoot area gives stability and traction for climbing.

“It’s a major improvement to a traditional trail running shoe,” says Michael Lunardelli, vice president of Merchandise & Retail at Spartan. “It provides drainage for water obstacles, two-way tread for ascending and descending obstacles, it’s extremely durable and reinforced in all the right areas where a typical trail runner would tear due to the extreme movements in OCR—and it can be washed.”

Lunardelli says the design process involved a collaboration between Spartan and Craft Sportswear as well as feedback from race participants, resulting in a marriage of ideas and needs. “Craft’s designers had the technical knowledge to design the shoe and select the right materials, based on the needs communicated by our athletes, who tested the shoe at all stages and provided ongoing feedback so it could be made exactly to their needs,” he says. Eric Schenker, CEO of Craft Sportswear, adds that the company applied the same experience, research and technology it uses to outfit its professional and Olympic athletes to the Spartan RD Pro. “Craft is known for cutting-edge apparel and accessories for world champions, and through this partnership we can bring this level of performance to Spartan competitors across the globe,” he says.

Additional design elements include a speed lace closure system and ARCFoam (Active Response Cushioning) technology for an optimum ride for runners. The foam responds to heel impact, absorbs shock and rebounds energy through toe off giving spring through each stride. It’s also built to last. Where these races often can shred most shoes, the RD Pro’s ObstaTech KPU cage construction adds enhanced mid-foot flexible ribs, a heel stability layer, durable toe cap reinforcement and added lateral support to prevent blowouts quick. A quick dry and easy-to-clean nylon upper (colors include red, black and lime) also helps extend the life of the shoe.

The Spartan Craft RD PRO is available for $140 on Spartan.com and will also be sold at sponsored races worldwide this summer. As for wholesale distribution, Lunardelli is targeting an array of brick-and-mortar and online outdoor and running specialty dealers as well as select sporting goods stores.

“First and foremost, we want to offer the shoe to current Spartans as it’s designed specifically for the sport, and we’ll roll out branded campaigns primarily in the social and digital space,” he says, adding other styles are in the works. “We’ll be releasing a Spartan x Craft training shoe in the near future, offer more colors and versions of the RD Pro for this fall and Spring ’20, and may develop a recovery/lifestyle shoe at some point.” —G.D.

continued from page 14 shoes, handbags and leather accessories aided by an Ecco designer. We will be doing that again with Nordstrom this fall. I also think the current barriers between online and offline shopping will completely disappear and the consumer relationship will be entirely personalized based on CRM data. The next few years will revolve around a lot of testing for brands to find the ideal solutions in shop environment and services.

Is the escalating trade war and subsequent tariff hikes impacting Ecco much?

It’s relatively minimal. We have a factory in China, but we saw this coming and moved production of those shoes that come into the U.S. to our factories in other countries. It’s a unique position of strength. That aside, the tariffs hikes are bad for our industry overall. It’s bad for consumers, and that affects Ecco as much as any other brand.

Where does Ecco’s sustainability efforts and goals fit in its overall plan?

It goes back to the inherent humility of the Danish culture in that our owners believe this is something you should do because it’s the correct way to treat the environment. It’s not something you should do because it’s a good to work into a marketing program. Ecco has always been environmentally conscious.

And while sustainability isn’t something we brag about, I think we could talk more about what we do a and still remain humble. For example, our new Dri Tan leather: We’ve found a way to dramatically reduce the fresh water and chromium use in the tanning process, which is incredibly impactful to the environment. Our sustainability efforts are taken a step further with the way we treat employees—the conditions that we work in and the rules that we live by internally. That’s always been in the highest part of our agenda.

What are some key goals for the rest of this year?

It’s continuing the path that we’re on. We’re hyper-focused on getting to know our consumers so we can relate better messages directly to them. It’s continuing to push our designs to be as appropriate for our U.S. consumers as possible. And it’s to continue with our standard goal: to be our retail partners’ most profitable, reliable and consistent brand.

What do you love most about your job?

It’s the long-term view that we take as a company toward who and what we are, and what we want to be 50 years from now. We don’t make short-term decisions for short-term results. We make long-term decisions, regardless of initial results or consequences. That’s a very consistent and sustainable position to be in. I also love the quality of our products. It’s product that I can totally get behind, which was the case before I worked here.

Is this a dream job?

Looking back, I got into the footwear business by happenstance. I started out on a floor at a Track N’ Trail store. It was a start-up, family owned business that had about 35 stores at the time, and I decided I loved this business. I became a district manager, and that’s when the Ecco connection began with its frequent in-store service programs. They were a quirky new brand that shipped shoes in tin cans. I then moved on to work at H.S. Trask, where I learned how to be a wholesaler. It was a great brand and there was a lot of excitement in its start-up phase. But when I looked around the marketplace, there was always this one company that I thought to myself, “Man, someday I’m going to work there.” And when the Ecco opportunity presented itself, I jumped on it, and it was for all the reasons that have kept me here for 20 years. It’s just a very easy company to buy into and believe in. For me, that’s half the battle, if not more. •

GRAY AREA Pe n c i l i n g r a p h i t e h u e s f o r f a l l .

Clockwise from top: Sorel, Earth, Secret Celebrity, Antelope, Mephisto.

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P HOTO G RAP H Y BY T RE VET T MCC A N D LI SS

T R E N D S P OT T I N G

THE WHO’S WHO IN SHOES THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION OF FOOTWEAR BRANDS. 1.STATE / 27 EDIT* / 63 / A.LIVE / A.S.98 / ACTIV* / AD TEC / ADAM TUCKER / AETREX / ALBERTO FELLINI / ALDO ROSSINI / ALEGRIA BY PG LITE / ALL BLACK / ALLAN K. ALLROUNDER / ALMA EN PENA / ANAKI PARIS* / ANDRE ASSOUS / ANDREA CONTI / ANDROID / ANGKAN / ANNE MICHELLE / ANTELOPE / ANUSCHKA HANDBAGS APRES BY LAMO / AQUATHERM / ARA / ARAVON / ARCHE / ARCOPEDICO / ARIA & NICA / ARO* / ASH / ASHLEY BLUE / ASPORTUGUESAS / ATELIERS / ATELIERS COLLECTION ATURA / AZURA / BAHAMAS* / B.O.C. / B52 BY BULLBOXER / BAGGALLINI / BAMBOO / BANDOLINO / BCBG GIRLS / BCBGENERATION* / BCBGMAXAZRIA* BEARPAW / BEAST FASHION / BEAUTIFEEL / BELLA LUNA / BERNIE MEV / BILL BLASS / BIONICA / BIRD OF FLIGHT / BLACKSTONE / BLONDISH* / BLOWFISH MALIBU BLUE SUEDE SHOES / BOLARIO / BOLARO / BONNIBEL / BORDAN SHOE COMPANY / BORN / BOS & CO / BRAND X HUARACHES / BUENO / BUFFALO / BULLBOXER / BUSSOLA BUTTER / BZEES / C*H20 / CALOU STOCKHOLM / CAMPER / CAMPOBELLO* / CANAL SAINT MARTIN* / CANDY POP* / CAPE ROBBIN / CARRIED AWAY* / CARTAGO MENS CARTAGO WOMENS / CARTER’S / CASE IH / CASTA* / CAT / CC CORSO COMO / CECELIA NEW YORK / CGEAR SAND FREE / CHACO / CHAMPION KIDS / CHARLES BY CHARLES DAVID CHARLES DAVID / CHARLESTON SHOE CO. / CHARLIE STONE SHOES* / CHASE & CHLOE / CHIE / CHIE MIHARA / CHOCOLAT BLU / CHOO CHOO SHOES / CHOOKA / CIRCLE G CLIFF DWELLER / CLIFFS BY WHITE MOUNTAIN / CLOUD FOOTWEAR / CLOUD NINE SHEEPSKIN / COBB HILL BY ROCKPORT / COLE HAAN / COLOKO COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANY / COMFORT TRENDS / COMFORTIVA / COOL CHIC* / CORDANI / CORKYS / CORRAL BOOT / COUGAR / CREATIVE RECREATION / CREVO CROCS / CROSSMONT* / CUADRA / CYDWOQ / DA BELLA / DAN POST / DANNER / DANSKO / DARN TOUGH VERMONT / DAVID TATE / DB WIDER FIT SHOES / DBDK FASHION DE BLOSSOM BRIDAL / DE BLOSSOM COLLECTION / DE BLOSSOM GIRL / DE WULF* / DEARFOAMS / DELICACY / DELICIOUS / DIBA TRUE / DINGO EST. 1969 / DNA SUSTAINABLE* DOLCE NOME* / DONALD PLINER / DORKING / DR. SCHOLL’S SHOES / DUNHAM / EARTH / EARTH ORIGINS / EAST LION / EASTLAND / EASTLAND 1955 EDITION EASTLAND MADE IN MAINE / EASY B / EASY SPIRIT / ECCO / EILEEN FISHER / EL NATURALISTA / ELEFANTE ROJO / ELEGANCE / ELEGANT COLLECTION / ELITE / EMERIL LAGASSE ENRICO COVERI / ERIC MICHAEL / ESPIRIT / ETHEM / EUREKA / EVOLVE* / FABULOUS / FALCOTTO / FANTASY SANDALS / FEIYUE / FERGIE / FIDELIO AUSTRIAN OOSLGN FINN COMFORT / FINNAMIC BY FINN COMFORT / FINNMELLOW BY FINN COMFORT / FIRST STEPS* / FLEXUS / FLOAFERS / FLOJOS / FLORSHEIM / FLORSHEIM WORK / FLUCHOS FLY LONDON / FOOTMATES* / FOOTPETALS / FOREVER / FORTUNE DYNAMIC / FOUR SEASONS SHOE CARE PRODUCTS / FRANCO SARTO / FREE PEOPLE / FRENCH SOLE GABOR / GANTER / GENTLE SOULS BY KENNETH COLE / GERBER* / GIESSWEIN / GIZZE HANDMADE / GLAMOUR BAG* / GLAMOURSY* / GLAMOURSY KIDS* / GLAZE / GLISTER GOLO / GRABBERS / GRASSHOPPERS / GRAVITY DEFYER* / GRENDENE KIDS / GRENDHA* / GUY HARVEY / H2K / H2K TRADING / HAFLINGER / HALSA* / HAPPY WALKING HARLEY-DAVIDSON / HEELYS / HELLAS SHOES ART S.A.* / HENRIETTE STEFFENSEN* / HISPANITAS / HOMERS / HONGBOSHOES / HOTSOLES LONDON / HOTTER / HUNTER BOOT HUSH PUPPIES KIDS / ILSE JACOBSEN HORNBAEK / IMAC / INTOUCH FOOTWEAR / IRON AGE / IRREGULAR CHOICE / ISLAND SLIPPER / ITALINA / ITASCA / IVYLEE COPENHAGEN J.P. ORIGINAL / J.RENEE’ / JAFA / JAMBU / JAMBUKD / JBU / JEFFREY CAMPBELL / JENNY / JERUSALEM SANDALS / JESCO / JESSICA SIMPSON / JOHNSTON & MURPHY JOMA SPORT / JOSEF SEIBEL / JOSMO / JOY / JSLIDES / JSPORT / KALSO EARTH / KAMIK / KANNA / KAYLEEN / KEDS / KEDS KIDS / KELSI DAGGER BROOKLYN / KENDALL & KYLIE KENNEL & SCHMENGER / KENNETH COLE / KENSIE / KIMERA / KNAPP / KORK-EASE / KORKS / LA PINTA / LA PLUME / LA SHEELAH / LACOSTE / LACROSSE / LAFORST SHOES INC. LAMO / L’AMOUR DES PIEDS / LAREDO WESTERN BOOTS / L’ARTISTE / LAURA ASHLEY* / LAUREN LORRAINE / LEGEND FOOTWEAR / LIFESTRIDE / LILIANA / LINK / LIVESTUDIO LOINTS OF HOLLAND / LORELLA* / LOUISE ET CIE / LOVE UNIVERSITY / LUCCHESE / LUCITA / LUCKY BRAND / LUCKY TOP / LUGZ / M.A.P. / MACARENA / MAKER’S SHOES MARC FISHER / MARC FISHER LTD / MARK NASON LOS ANGELES / MAURO PISSANI / MBT / MCRAE WORK / ME TOO SHOES / MEPHISTO / MERRELL / MERRELL KIDS / MILO MINNETONKA / MISBEHAVE / MISS L / MIZ MOOZ / MOBILS ERGONOMIC / MODZORI / MOOTSIES TOOTSIES / MUK LUKS / MUNRO / N.Y.L.A / N.Y.L.A. PREMIUM / NALHO NANCY LI / NANETTE LEPORE / NANETTE NANETTE LEPORE / NAOT FOOTWEAR / NAOT OUTDOOR / NATURALIZER / NATURE BREEZE / NATURE IS FUTURE / NATURINO NEW ROCK SHOES, S.L.* / NEXTKNIT SOCKS / NICKY HILTON X FRENCH SOLE / NICOLE MILLER* / NINE WEST / NINE WEST KIDS / NMD BRAZIL / NUNN BUSH / ONEX / OOMPHIES OS 1ST / OSHKOSH / OUTWOODS / P448 / PACIFIC MOUNTAIN / PADDERS / PAJAR / PAPUCEI / PARRAZO / PAS DE ROUGE / PATAUGAS / PATRIZIA / PAUL GREEN PAUL MAYER/ATTITUDES / PAZZLE / PELLE MODA / PENDLETON BOOT / PENGUIN / PHOTOBENCH SERIES / PHOTOCAPTURE 360 SERIES / PHOTOSIMILE SERIES / PICON* PIERRE DUMAS / PIERRE DUMAS KIDS / PIKOLINOS / PINAZ / PLAKTON* / POLO RALPH LAUREN KIDS / PONS / POPOL VUH / PROPET USA / PUMA SAFETY SHOES / QUPID RAG & CO* / RAINBOW SANDALS* / RAPISARDI / RAS / REACTION KENNETH COLE / REBELS / REEBOK WORK / REFRESH / REGINA ROMERO / RE-MIX CLASSIC VINTAGE / REMONTE RESTRICTED / REVA / ORTHOTICA* / REVERE SHOES / RIALTO / RIDE TECS / RIDER SANDALS / RIEKER “ANTISTRESS” / RJ’S FUZZIES / ROAN / ROC BOOTS AUSTRALIA ROCKET DOG / ROCKPORT / ROCKPORT WORKS / ROCSOC / AQMATECS / ROMIKA / ROSEMUNDE COPENHAGEN* / ROXY / RUBY SHOO / RUSTIC ASPHALT / RYKA / SACHA LONDON / SAIRA SHOES* / SALAMANDAR / SAM EDELMAN / SAMUEL JOSEPH / SANDRINO COLLECTION / SANDRO MOSCOLONI / SANITA / SANO / SANTANA CANADA SAS SHOES / SAUCONY KIDS / SAVA / SCHUTZ / SCOTT HAWAII* / SEPOL / SERGIO TOMANI / SEVEN DIALS / SHERIDAN MIA / SHOE MAGNATE / SHOE THE BEAR (COPENHAGEN) SHOES FROM MEXICO / SHU SHOP* / SILVERDEW / SIMPLY NATURAL ALPACA / SMARTTY / SOCKS N SOCKS / SOCKWELL / SODA / SOFFT / SOFTINO’S / SOFTWALK / SOLS SOMETHING BLEU / SOPHIE LAURENT / SOREL / SPERRY / SPERRY KIDS / SPLENDID / SPOILED ANGEL / SPRING STEP / SPRING STEP PROFESSIONAL / SPRINGLAND STACY ADAMS / STAHEEKUM / STEPPING STONES* / STONEFLY / STORM BY COUGAR / STRIDE RITE / SUMMER RIO / SUP TRADING / SUPERLAMB / SUPERRAMB / SUREFIT* TADPOLES* / TAHI SHOES / TAKE A WALK / TAMARINDO / TAO PARIS / TAOS / TECS / TED BAKER LONDON / TESTOSTERONE / TEVA* / THE FLEXX THE ORIGINAL MUCK BOOT COMPANY / THERAFIT / THIERRY RABOTIN / THIERRY RABOTIN COUTURE / THINK! / TOMMY HILFIGER / TOMMY HILFIGER KIDS / TONI PONS TOP GUY / TOP MODA / TORPEDO / TOSCANA USA / TR1 / TRAIL RIVER / TRAQ BY ALEGRIA / TRASK / TRETORN / TROTTERS / TSUKIHOSHI* / TWIN TIGER / TWISTED X / U-DOT UNICORN SHOES / UNILADY / UNIONBAY / UNIQERS* / UNITED NUDE / UNITY IN DIVERSITY / UNLISTED KENNETH COLE / VAGABOND SHOEMAKERS / VALENTI FRANCO / VENETI VENTOLATION / VENUS / VERBENAS* / VIBRAM FUROSHIKI / VICTORIA / VINCE CAMUTO / VIONIC / VITAL / VITAL ARCH / VITAL MADE IN AUSTRIA / V-ITALIA / VOILE BLANCHE* W6YZ / WALDLAUFER / WANDA PANDA / WEEBO / WESTERN CHIEF / WESTWOOD / WHITE LINE / WHITE MOUNTAIN / WILD DIVA / WOLKY / WOLVERINE / WONDERS / WOOL WORISHOFER / WORK ZONE / X2B / XOXO / XTRATUF / ZIERA / ZODIAC USA* + MANY MORE *NEW BRAND

LIST PULLED AS OF 5/16/19 TO MEET OUR PRINTING DEADLINE AND MAY NOT REFLECT COMPLETE LIST OF BRANDS.

AUGUST 12-14, 2019 | LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER | REGISTER TO ATTEND AT UBMFASHION.COM

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