Insoles

Aetrex orthotic sales grew double digits in 2021.

INSOLES: AETREX

Grand Scans

THE GROWTH OF Aetrex’s orthotics and footwear lines have gone hand-infoot with the success of its cutting-edge foot scanning technology systems. Since 2002, more than 10,000 foot scanner devices have been placed with retailers around the globe, and last year, Aetrex began rolling out its next-generation in-store scanner, the Albert 2 Pro, to rave reviews and success.

Customers who step on the Albert 2 Pro, for about 20 seconds, receive 3-D measurements and pressure point analyses of their feet that can be used to custom-select orthotics and choose footwear that best fit their feet. Aetrex has sold more than 15 million units of its over-the-counter orthotics, which are available for all foot types and footwear styles and include 3-D printed custom orthotics that are created using data from the Albert system.

Matt Schwartz, executive vice president of sales, discusses the Albert 2 Pro and how the third-generation, family business thrived during the second year of the pandemic with its all-inclusive scanning, insoles and footwear approach. —B.S.

How was business in 2021, all things considered? In 2021, we had recordbreaking orders across the four main categories of our business: Aetrexbranded orthotics, footwear, scanning technology and DTC sales. During the pandemic, we never stopped working. We used it as an opportunity to advance our products and plant the seeds for significant growth in the next few years.

What were some key product highlights of the year? Our Aetrex-branded orthotics saw double-digit growth in 2021 versus two years earlier. In 2020, we developed the Albert 2 Pro, which represents the cutting edge of foot scanning technology, and in 2021, we were busy selling it. We booked an enormous amount of orders, and hundreds are going out on the market now, to a broad distribution of retail customers—running, workwear, outdoor, department stores and others. We have also opened up five freestanding stations in heavily trafficked malls, which are driving growth of orthotics and footwear while bringing benefits to consumers. People may be walking in the mall, and outside a Lululemon or an Apple store, they may see this high-tech station, where they can have their feet scanned, see where the pressure points are, transfer the data to their mobile device using a QR code and be introduced to orthotics and footwear digitally. We currently have it in five locations and plan to expand to more.

What were some other notable brand initiatives introduced in 2021? We launched FitGenius, which is part of our foot scanning technology program. Once customers get their feet scanned in one of thousands of stores, this platform matches their foot profiles with their ideal footwear styles and sizes to provide personalized footwear recommendations, which they can access across the retailer’s digital shopping platforms after leaving the store. To understand the problem FitGenius is designed to solve, think about shopping for shoes online. You order shoes, but when you get them home, they don’t fit right or feel good. FitGenius puts consumers in the position where, when shopping online, they can rank the styles they’re looking for in terms of their ability to fit their unique feet. It’s an incredible ecommerce experience that ties into our scanning technology and makes it less likely consumers will return the shoes they ordered.

What was the toughest challenge in 2021? The biggest challenge was procuring components for our scanning technologies. But because our purchasing teams around the world did a great job working together, we did not have significant issues and we were proud to be able to launch our scanning technology despite the unexpected supply chain problems.

How would you grade your team on its overall performance navigating

through such challenges? A+. One thing we’re really proud of over the last two years is that our management team united around a point of view of what’s best for the business. We were able to appeal to the best in Matt Schwartz, people and motivate them to VP of sales exceed what even they thought they were capable of doing. Our people outperformed and our management teams did a great job leading. I’m proud of how much the team was able to produce and what they were able to accomplish during such challenging times. There is a lot of indication that in all the key categories, we’re poised for significant growth. We’re excited about what everybody accomplished to put us in a position to have this opportunity for growth.