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Ollie Gray Debuts Maternity Sneaker

A style that meets the changing needs of pregnant and postpartum women.

IT’S WELL-DOCUMENTED that feet can swell over the course of a day. But that pales in comparison to the size fluctuations bought on by pregnancy and postpartum. Thus, the need for a shoe that can flex, mold and accommodate such changes with proper comfort and support—so says Kate and Bryce Rech, cofounders of maternity wear maker Ollie Gray. But as novices to the shoe biz, the husband-and-wife team brought in the services of renowned sneaker designer, Jeff Henderson (Nike cred), and his New York-based creative agency AndThem, to turn their design vision into reality.

“We always dreamed of a maternity shoe, but we started small with Jeff’s team by bringing them in on some print and art design projects for other products,” Kate Rech says. “With two-plus years of work completed, we finally pitched the idea of a maternity footwear line and, lucky for us, he loved it and jumped all in.”

Dubbed the OG, the sneaker (SRP: $135 and available in whole and half sizes 6-11) is an all-purpose design that Rech says focuses on genuine comfort features that she believes so many sneakers today fail to address. “There’s such a high focus on the look that comfort becomes an afterthought—cue Gucci, Saint Laurent and LV,” she says. In contrast, the OG is all about comfort, starting with the outsole. Think: not squishy. “Moms need support for the changes their bodies are going through during and after pregnancy, and the foot doesn’t react well to an overly cushioned sole,” she explains. “It wants a strong, supportive sole, and Vibram is one of the most trusted sole manufacturers in the world.” Rech says the OG sole provides extra support, comfort and stability throughout the foot and arch as the body changes and weight fluctuates during pregnancy and postpartum.

Next up: a knit upper designed to adapt and mold to changing foot sizes. “Our focus group participants all mentioned one common complaint, aside from their feet hurting: that they couldn’t fit into many of their shoes due to weight gain and swollen feet,” Rech says. “So we designed an upper with stretch and give that can expand and contract to mirror the changes the foot goes through during this time.” In addition, an elastic lateral and medial lacing system provides better flexibility, support and comfort, while the tightening pull tab is longer for easier reach and enables wearers to slip the shoes on and off with ease. Rech adds that the knit material is also lightweight and breathable, which suits all-day wear from the home to the doctor’s office to the gym and errands in between.

Last but not least, Rech says great attention has been paid to style. “We created a sneaker that could be worn with leggings, a maxi dress or a favorite pair of mom jeans,” she says, noting that the three colorways (rose, cream and black) are designed to blend into wardrobes seamlessly. “This is not a shoe only for pregnant women; the OG is a sneaker for Moms, period,” Rech adds, again paying homage to the design credibility of Henderson. “Jeff has designed shoes for Nike, Under Armour, Converse, Allbirds, KOIO and Everlane. I’m six years removed from having a baby and I am wearing my OG sneakers every day!”

Beyond all these reasons, Rech believes the time has come for a maternity-specific sneaker. “Moms deserve better,” she says, adding that with more than five years of customer feedback and consumer insight, Ollie Gray has a proven track record on introducing what is missing in this space. “We could have slow churned and focused on common product line extensions like tank tops, camis and sleep bras, but that doesn’t fit into our brand DNA,” Rech says. “We want to change the way consumers view maternity, which is not to sell the same drab, nonconforming pieces our competitors seem to focus on.”

On the note, Rech says look for new shoe styles soon. “We have two more styles currently in design, as well as colorway extensions for the OG,” she says. “Our design team would kill us if we spilled the beans, but we recognize the working mom needs options, and who doesn’t love an around the house shoe?” Rech believes that the market demand is there for a maternity shoe category, noting the approximately four million new moms in the U.S. annually. “We’ve had pregnant moms test the OG and the feedback has given us the confidence to go all in on footwear,” she says. “We’re high on the idea of maternity footwear being a staple category.” —Greg Dutter

Kate Rech, cofounder, Ollie Gray, makers of the OG maternity sneaker

our product just to lower the price. The reason being: If a customer were to buy an inferior shoe and have a bad experience, she’ll likely never buy our brand again. But if she has a positive experience, then I can keep her no matter where she shops. So those retailers have to take a hard look at their business model—just like everybody else. It likely means price increases. And I believe it’s high time they do. I’ve been doing this for a long time and retail prices for shoes have never really gone up, but manufacturing cost have risen quite a bit. So, this disruption is actually giving the industry an opportunity to correct itself. We have to elevate prices. We can’t continue to sell $39, $49, and $59 shoes. It’s just not profitable. If the price of a 40-foot container before Covid was $3,000 on average and now it’s as high as $22,000, you can’t make a profit without raising prices. You just can’t absorb those kinds of extreme logistics cost increases, not to mention the 8 percent duties on leather goods made in China, plus another 7.5 percent tariff.

Any resistance to Earth Shoes’ price increases?

No. And that’s the point I’ve been making to our wholesale customers: Our consumers are willing to pay more for the shoes than what you’re charging. This is an opportunity for you to take advantage of this. Our customer is willing to pay $80 for that shoe, rather than going to Nordstrom Rack and maybe buying it for $59.99. They don’t need to match that. That’s why I think we have to keep pushing our retails up. We’ve also been running less sales than ever before on our ecommerce site, and our business has remained very strong. Our pricing for Earth Origins has really elevated. We have a lot of shoes at the $90$100 range, which is where it should be for that type of footwear. And our Earth Elements is in the $150 to$180.

How has the shift to running fewer sales gone?

Very well. When I got here, the company was heavily promoting, which only got worse once the pandemic hit because everybody freaked out thinking that they had too much inventory. But last summer I turned that sales switch off. I went back to a regular priced model and increased retails where they needed to be. We only had one sale (Memorial Day) this spring. What’s more, every time we had the opportunity to put something on sale, we substituted it with an offer of free shipping, and our business exploded! We also shifted our email marketing approach. Instead of talking about price, price, price, we now talk about fashion and the product. It’s working really well—our emails now represent 35 percent of our online revenue.

So, less sales have meant more sales overall?

Yes. Remember when Nordstrom only had two sales a year? As a consumer, you were conditioned that if you saw something you liked, you’d better buy it because it may not be there by the time one of those sales came around. That’s how we need to be thinking about our business. Daily emails touting sales aren’t really effective. In contrast, I love the emails Todd Snyder sends. I instructed our team to mimic their frequency and content. So, for example, we’ll talk about a new boot’s features and benefits and fashion in general. We don’t just talk price. Since we started doing that, customers have been coming more to our website and buying more shoes. The ROI is amazing. Along those lines, before I got here, the company was spending money on ecommerce like a drunken sailor. So last summer I hired a consultant to conduct an audit of what we were doing right and wrong. Basically, the audit revealed that if we did the opposite of what we had been doing, we would be ok. So, we’ve flipped the script and it’s made a big difference in our ecommerce business.

Props to Todd Snyder, then.

Yes! His messaging is spot-on. His customer service is excellent, as well. That’s another thing we’ve done: We built a new customer service team and moved it to Memphis, TN, near our distribution center. I’ve set the standard really high. In fact, I don’t even call it customer service anymore. It’s customer loyalty, because it’s important that when a customer reaches out to us, whether it’s by email or phone, that it’s one touch. We’ll solve the problem, right then and there. If a shoe doesn’t fit right and they want to return it, let’s speak directly with that customer about what can we do to make it right for them. Those are the little things that will continue to pay dividends as we grow this business.

What do you love most about your job?

I love that every day is a new adventure. It’s just exciting to be in this position, and that I get to make decisions in all facets of the business to keep us moving forward. It keeps me on my toes. That’s the fun part of this job: creating opportunities. I always say, just make a decision. I don’t care if you make the wrong one, because that’s better than not making any decision. Just don’t make the wrong one twice. The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result. We just have to keep thinking outside the box. •

Men’s casual kicks are essential to Earth Elements’ spring collection.

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