Shoe Salon

No Surrender

Katya Lysenko, founder/designer of My Twenty Five, reveals how the Ukrainian label continues to fight the fierce fashion fight. By Greg Dutter

SINCE LAUNCHING MY TWENTY FIVE in 2016 in Kyiv, Ukraine, founder/ designer Katya Lysenko has been living out her dream of creating shoes that enable women to feel both “confident and comfortable.” From the get-go, her company grew steadily, but then came the pandemic and the Russian invasion—a one-two punch that could KO the strongest of businesses. But not Lysenko’s. She is adapting—for instance, temporarily shifting production from Ukraine to Italy—and fighting tooth and nail for survival. She’s worked too hard, and loves her work too much, to surrender.

Take the overall theme of My Twenty Five’s upcoming fall collection, for example. It’s called Inferno, in reference to Dante’s vision of hell. “It’s a mix of tragedy, punishment and sexiness in one bottle,” Lysenko says. “Our brand is ‘made in Ukraine’ and we’re facing a real-life hell. The huge tragedy cannot be forgotten, so we decided to create something emotional.” That translates to inspirational design elements such as bullets, chains and cobras. “It’s all about metal constructions, snakeskin, vinyl and sharp edges,” she says. “Hell can also be interpreted as a kind of punishment with shades of sexiness, which aligns with our DNA.”

My Twenty Five’s DNA dates to Lysenko’s childhood shoe obsession that involved her spinning in front of a mirror in her mom’s high heel pumps—a black suede pair with gold details and a white napa pair. “I don’t remember anything that could make me so happy,” she says. That love was rekindled 25 years later, following a failed shoe shopping trip with her girlfriends. “We were looking for the perfect New Year’s Eve shoes and discovered there were only two options: Italian brands that we couldn’t afford or cheap and uncomfortable ones,” she says. “From that moment, I decided to start my dream to make women feel confident and comfortable in beautiful shoes.”

While Lysenko has no previous design experience, she credits her 15 years working in sales and marketing as helping get My Twenty Five off the launch pad. Plus, a lot of old-fashioned grit. “My main teacher in this business, as in life, is working hard and following my dream,” she says. “I never stop learning and ensure that every pair is made of love!” How are you dealing with the war? Personally, I was in the U.S. when it began, thank God! But my sister’s family stayed in Kharkiv, and my mother and grandfather are in Zaporozhye, my childhood home. I try to help any way I can. I donated my car to our army and give as much money as I can. Meanwhile, it gets worse each day. It’s hard to explain my feelings when my mom sends a message that there are 10 air raid sirens a day, there might be no internet and she’s hiding in a bomb shelter. Business-wise, we stopped work at our Kyiv factory. The elder couple who own it had no choice, as some of the workers had to leave their homes in nearby Bucha and Brovary. So we’ve moved our stock to Europe and are trying several new factories in Italy. I met them at Micam. Could you pause operations? I feel better doing something, instead of being sad or angry. I feel almost happy when I fall into my work. I also feel inspired helping friends and customers. Not shutting down is a source of great pride. It’s our little way to show Ukrainians and the world that life goes on—just like our country has shown the world how brave and strong we are. We know we’ll win this war against the dark side. It’s a struggle for truth, freedom, beauty and life. What is My Twenty Five’s overall design aesthetic? My Twenty Five means you can never have enough. It takes at least 25 pairs to quench our customers’ thirst. That recipe mixes passion, smart sexiness and a dash of drama—all ingredients of modern women. Feeling confident in our shoes is key. Comfort is also key, which is why we researched hundreds of women’s feet to get precise measurements. Our last enables women to spend eight hours-plus in our heels and still feel comfortable. Her feet are worth it. Who is the My Twenty Five woman? She’s a self-made businesswomen in whatever field she chooses. She’s confident and courageous. She doesn’t have to prove anything, to anyone. She knows the perfect combination of style, quality and price.

In what ways has the pandemic impacted your busi-

ness? Not as much as many might think. First off, I believe deep inside every woman’s soul, they can’t wait to dress up again. That’s why I added more celebratory details, like Swarovski crystals on some styles. I wanted my customer to celebrate life, even if it was just going out to dinner, the best way she could! I also consider heels to be a woman’s inner anchor. The pandemic, if anything, revealed that more than ever, as heels are now trending

Katya Lysenko embraces across a variety of categories. Dante’s Inferno for Fall ’20. Who are some designers you admire? I’m totally in love with Saint Laurent—the whole aesthetic of the brand. The lines, details and, most of all, daring character in rather strict styles. What is the perfect shoe? The one that makes you feel yourself. What do you love most about designing? Seeing and hearing how happy my customers are. That means everything to me. I also love spending hours choosing materials, imagining how they’ll work with various accessories and outfits. It’s like a game. I want each style to be both signature and ready-to-wear.

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Armani, who recently said “fashion is slowing.” Thus, for products to be successful, they must be seasonless, better quality and feature sustainable design elements. Dingo fits in with this description well, starting with the fact that nothing can be worn more universally than a western boot and nothing has more perceived value. Also, many consumers are looking forward to reuniting and celebrating with friends and family, and our products are designed for people to wear when having a good time.

If there’s a lingering fear of malls, where are customers shopping?

In addition to Boot Barn, the farm store sector is popular. Chains like Tractor Supply, Fleet Farm and Murdoch’s Ranch & Home account for a huge number of stores collectively and are growing overall. It’s one of the fastest growth areas for Dingo. A beautiful thing about this sector is they love footwear, whereas in department stores footwear is like the bastard child because it’s the slowest turn, least margin and bought in case packs. It’s very difficult. But in farm stores, footwear is one of the highest margins and fastest turning segments. That’s why they often merchandise it up front, as opposed to being hidden in the back in department stores. They are growing the category. Those customers are already in those stores, and they have no aversion to buying a great pair of boots, if they see them.

Where do you envision Dingo in three years?

As one of the most recognized fashion brands in the industry. I’m a big proponent of licensing and how critical that is to a brand’s long-term growth, which I learned from the Cole family. Not only is it a way to grow into a complete lifestyle brand, it’s an incredibly profitable business model. But you have to pick the right partners—ones that have similar taste and distribution levels. You have to always protect the brand. In addition to this, we’re constantly looking for new avenues to reach our consumers, especially through social media platforms. We’re working closely with our retail partners to become more involved in joint marketing ventures, such as video social media events. We’ll also be rolling out more in-store Dingo shops with key retailers, as well as adding more signage in general, to enhance our brand. Now, to be the most recognizable doesn’t necessarily mean the biggest. You can run into trouble trying to become the biggest. Besides, consumers today don’t necessarily want the biggest. They want to know your backstory and what you stand for. To me, most recognizable means striving to receive the feedback we’ve been getting every day from consumers about how much they love our product. For example, we’re very proud that one of our biggest compliments is how comfortable our products are from the first try-on. Comfort is imperative to younger consumers, who’ve grown up wearing sneakers and flip-flops. Above all, the positive feedback means we’re giving customers what they want. They enjoy wearing our product and believe it’s a great value.

What are some challenges Dingo faces in achieving continued growth?

There are always challenges. Currently, it’s the labor shortage and rising labor costs, which are up about 12 percent. Material costs are also up about 14 percent. And the price of containers is almost 10 times what we paid 12 to 18 months ago, not to mention their lack of availability. So, our overriding challenge is how to handle all this without passing too much cost increases on to our customers. Fortunately, Dan Post has long-term relationships and a reputation of the highest integrity. We’ve been able to work with our factory partners to overcome much of these increases. Another big challenge is keeping up with our growing production demand. Again, we’re fortunate that our factory base, which we’ve had for over 25 years, has kept up with our growth. We haven’t needed to switch to other factories or countries, which can take years to stabilize, if ever.

You’re about 50 years deep into this industry, what keeps you going?

I still love it, and my whole life has been a testament to that. I love that no two days are the same. I’m one of those suckers who just can’t pass up a challenge. Sometimes it’s just that simple: I wasn’t maybe that interested until you told me it couldn’t be done. I also love that your career starts over every season. I don’t care what your resume says, this is the one industry that your resume is only as good as your last season. It doesn’t matter how successful you’ve been, what matters is the success you’re having right now. I know a lot of people, with unbelievable resumes, who’ve since left this business, or the business left them. But I don’t think age has anything to do with success. It has to do with a desire to learn a new way, to try and improve, and to remain relevant. Maybe there comes a point for everyone when that desire goes away. Fortunately, within Dan Post and myself, that desire to be part of team to build something special is stronger than ever.

What do you love most about your job?

I love coming to work every day. Dan Post is family. Our president, Ken Moore, and our owner, Gary McRae, are beyond reproach when it comes to integrity. The family culture is just conducive to wanting to do your best work, always. •

THE LONG RUN

Fifty years burning down the road and Ron Owens is still running strong.

THIS IS NOT Ron Owens’ first rodeo. The industry veteran of 50 years has been a key player in legendary runs, including the original launch of Dingo, Candie’s (twice) and Sam & Libby. In fact, the never-ending thrill of working with a team that’s trying to create another big run brought Owens out of his short-lived retirement in 2019 to lead Dingo once again. Ever since getting his start as a buyer for a local North Carolina department store, footwear has run through his veins.

His short detour—a two-year stint in New York as stockbroker in the mid ’80s—reaffirmed Owens’ enduring love of this industry. “I hated every minute of it,” Owens recalls. “I wasn’t accustomed to being confined to a desk all day. I really missed the shoe business—the product and the people.”

Owens was born to chase fashion futures. His resume reads like a greatest hits album, and he’s performed with industry rock stars like Charlie, Kenneth and Neil Cole, as well as Sam Edelman and Stephen Hoyt. Owens says he learned a lot from them. “Being part of teams that took new brands to amazing successes in very short periods was an incredible experience,” he says. “I’m forever grateful.”

Owens’ Candie’s days in the early ’80s were particularly memorable. The company was filled with young, energetic people. “One day Charlie said to me, ‘You want to know how to build a company and get rich? Hire 25 to 30 egomaniacs, give them what they need and get out of the way,’” Owens recalls. “Most of those guys became very successful.”

Another favorite insight from Charlie related to business deals. “He drew a circle on a piece of paper and then drew a line down the middle,” Owens says. “Then he said, ‘That’s the pie. You eat half and I eat half. That’s a good deal. If you start eating pie on my side of the plate, then we’ve got a problem.’”

Owens considers all his career stops memorable learning experiences, including the time he received his first (fat) commission check from Dingo in the late ’70s. It came on the heels of his modest salary at a local department store. “I carried it around for two weeks, afraid to take it to the bank because they would tell me it wasn’t real,” he says.

But it was Owens’ days as a buyer that got him hooked on the shoe business. He doesn’t forget his humble beginnings or any of the people who’ve given this self-described “hard worker” a chance to succeed. Leading Dingo again feels like coming full circle. “Just to see Dingo become again what it once was is too good to pass up,” he says. The cherry on top: working at Dan Post Boot Company, a firm he has long admired and that is filled with longtime industry friends. “It’s been a really easy transition,” Owens says. “It’s coming home.” —G.D.

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is happy to maintain. Opening stores is also a relatively affordable growth strategy. “The parameters for us to build a profitable store are pretty modest,” Conroy says. “So, more stores per capita in markets that have already experienced the Boot Barn brand, plus more stores in states people wouldn’t necessarily think can support a store—and we wind up with a lot of opportunity.”

The fact that those new stores won’t be in malls is another part of Boot Barn’s strategy. It’s no secret that mall traffic is depressed, and there are few signs of a rebound ahead. Ron Owens, brand manager for Dingo, a division of Dan Post Boot Company, believes Boot Barn’s destination format bodes well for attracting new customers. “There’s a percentage of consumers who aren’t returning to malls because they’re concerned about crowds and crime,” he says. “In a lot of cases, it’s a younger, more fashionminded consumer. So, it’s an opportunity for Boot Barn to pick up a new customer.”

WINNING HAND Conroy believes he’s holding a royal flush when it comes to Boot Barn’s odds for continued success based on macro trends spanning film, music, fashion and consumer demographics combined with winning management philosophies. Speaking of philosophies, Conroy’s guiding approach to management stems from a life lesson his father taught him: “keep it simple, stupid” (a.k.a. the KISS approach). While opening stores isn’t exactly simple, Boot Barn has its formula down pat. “People always want us to call out some glamorous, technical strategy, but really our No. 1 strategy is to keep building more stores,” he says. “It cuts back to ‘keep it simple.’”

He expects those stores to be busy for years to come. Conroy believes western movies and country music are gaining popularity for the same reasons Boot Barn is. “There’s no causality here,” he says. “The customer base is huge and vibrant, and both we and Yellowstone are tapping into it.”

Those who dismiss flyover country are failing to recognize the “largest consumer market that’s been hidden in plain view for 100 years,” Conroy points out. It’s the guy who buys $179 work boots, wears through them like running shoes and, in eight months or so, comes back to buy another pair. It’s the gal who loves line dancing and buys new pairs of boots every few months. In short, it’s America.

So what if investors don’t see or believe it? That’s fine with Conroy. Boot Barn sees a world of opportunity. “Our business may not be some DTC, digital-native disruptor, but we’re thrilled with our strategy,” he says. “We’ll just continue to execute against it and keep growing—even if some people still think we’re a fad.” •

THE RIGHT STUFF

Boot Barn CEO Jim Conroy: the right person, with the right approach, for the right company at the right time.

JIM CONROY KNEW Boot Barn had huge growth potential before he joined as CEO almost 10 years ago. But this born-and-raised Long Islander isn’t a cowboy boot whisperer, nor does he come from a long line of Shoe Dogs. The Ivy League grad did, however, take some advice his wife offered after a recruiter contacted him about the Boot Barn opportunity.

“My wife convinced me that this market is a lot bigger than I’d thought,” he says. “Having grown up in New York, I had no clue.”

Conroy’s wife, on the other hand, grew up in the Midwest and, after college, was a photographer at various newspapers around the country, including in Springfield, IL, and Baton Rouge, LA. “She told me, ‘Most of the country wears this product either all the time or often enough. It’s not just people in Texas and Wyoming who buy cowboy boots and jeans.’”

Conroy was completely sold after his interview with Boot Barn’s board of directors. “I had an immediate connection,” he says. “The board was very competent, but also very humble. They wanted to grow a business, and they were looking a bit outside the box.”

That made Conroy a perfect fit. For the previous five years, he’d served as COO and interim CEO for Claire’s Stores. Prior stops included Blockbuster Entertainment Group, Kurt Salomon Associates and Deloitte Consulting. In short, he was not a western guy—or a typical merchandise-turnedmanagement exec. “Oftentimes in retail, the hire is a product merchant type, but they wanted somebody who could grow a business, run a team and lead a company,” Conroy says.

Boot Barn, when Conroy arrived in November of 2012, was a privately held, 86-store chain doing about $180 million in revenue in eight states west of the Rocky Mountains. The board’s initial plan was to grow to a point where a slightly bigger private equity firm or company would acquire it. Within months, however, Conroy lived up to his outside-the-box billing and pitched going public. Despite initial hesitancy about whether investors would understand the concept and whether the chain could become big enough, he convinced them. Boot Barn went public in October 2014, and it’s been nothing but growth since.

Part of that success has stemmed from putting the right people in place and letting them do their jobs. “I love developing people and giving them growth opportunities,” Conroy says. “Promoting people is my favorite thing in the world.”

Take CMO Laurie Grijalva, promoted to her current position in 2014. “Laurie is an incredible merchant,” says Ron Owens, brand manager for Dingo and 50-year market veteran. He praises Boot Barn’s merchandise mix for serving both core and fashion customers without alienating either. “The fact that core customers aren’t buying in lieu of authentic cowboy boots but in addition to is proof,” Owens says. “That customer needs an authentic cowboy boot, but she also wants something in pink or blue that’s fun and fashionable. Boot Barn’s merchandise team understands that better than anybody.”

Prasad Reddy, CEO of Twisted X, also has high praise for Boot Barn’s leadership team. They’re all on the same page and share that vision with key vendors, he says, and that’s crucial. “Because they share strategic information, we can support them in product and marketing,” Reddy says, adding that the team is always open to new ideas. “They’re willing to test new concepts instead of just saying, ‘This doesn’t belong here.’ When it works, it’s great for everyone and, if it doesn’t, it’s still a good learning experience.”

Conroy says he’s “lucky, blessed, happy and fortunate” that his management team has stuck together. He credits the loyalty, in great part, to Boot Barn’s corporate culture, which mirrors his personal motto: “assume positive intent.” Translation: Boot Barn doesn’t bicker or backstab. “We don’t have political infighting,” Conroy says. “We don’t, for example, fire off angry emails. Let’s just assume that person wasn’t being antagonistic in that email, rather they were just asking you a question and maybe you interpreted it wrong. We don’t have any of that negativity.”

Conroy prefers to focus on Boot Barn’s many positives. Case in point: an employee who was recently promoted from district manager to regional director. “That’s a huge deal; she’s going from overseeing 10 stores to 90,” he says. “There are a lot of these stories because we’re growing. It’s the greatest feeling.”

If Boot Barn continues on its growth trajectory, there will be lots more opportunities to promote employees for jobs well done. It’s one of the many reasons Conroy plans to stick around. “If I think about why I came here, why we went public and why I’m still excited, it’s all the same answer: the opportunity for growth is enormous.” —G.D.