Footwear Plus | September 2021

SEPTEMBER 2021 VOL 31 • ISSUE 8 • $10

ORANGE CRUSH THE HOT HUE OF SPRING/SUMMER ’22 MOVING STORY 135 YEARS ON, REYERS RELOCATES TO A MALL

HAUSS ON FIRE A VETERAN RETAILER REINVENTS HIMSELF

AGAINST ALL ODDS SNEAKER STARTUP KICKS INTO GEAR

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DISCOVER THE BØRN COLLECTIONS Every season, we make high-quality shoes that feel as good as they look. With artistic touches, unparalleled craftsmanship, exquisite materials and our patented Opanka hand-stitching technique, we design shoes to satisfy the demands of every lifestyle.

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SEPTEMBER 2021 F E AT U R E S 12 Trend Spotting: Spring/Summer ’22 Key silhouettes, prints, colors and materials of the warm seasons.

By Ann Loynd Burton 18 Reyers Goes to the Mall After more than 135 years in freestanding and strip locations— including one billed at the “world’s largest shoe store”—Reyers has relocated to a mall, of all places.

By Greg Dutter 24 Orange is the New Black Stay tuned for bold shades of the vibrant hue.

By Ann Loynd Burton

D E PA RT M E N T S 4 Editor’s Note 6 This Just In: Los Angeles 8 Scene & Heard 22 A Note to My Younger Self

Caroline Diaco President/Group Publisher Greg Dutter Editorial Director Nancy Campbell Trevett McCandliss Creative Directors EDITORIAL Emily Beckman Associate Editor Kathy Passero Editor at Large Ann Loynd Burton Contributing Editor Melodie Jeng Tim Regas Marcy Swingle Contributing Photographers ADVERTISING/ PRODUCTION Jennifer Craig Associate Publisher Laurie Guptil Production Manager Kathy Wenzler Circulation Director Catherine Rosario Office Manager Mike Hoff Digital Director

34 Upclose Athletic 36 Shoe Salon 37 Upclose Comfort 40 This Just In: New York

WAINSCOT MEDIA Carroll Dowden Chairman Mark Dowden President & CEO Steven J. Resnick Vice President & CFO

On cover: loafers by Floafers.

Photography by Trevett McCandliss; Styling by Nancy Campbell; Fashion editor: Ann Loynd Burton; Model: Zoie Zeller/Fenton Model Mgmt; Photo assistant: Tara Campbell.

Earth Originals sport sandal.

PA G E

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OFFICES ADVERTISING/EDITORIAL

One Maynard Drive Park Ridge, NJ 07656 Tel: (201) 571-2244 editorialrequests@ 9Threads.com CIRCULATION

One Maynard Drive Park Ridge, NJ 07656 Tel: (201) 571-2244 circulation@9Threads.com

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 Wainscot Media, One Maynard Drive, Park Ridge, NJ, 07656. The publishers of this magazine do not accept responsibility for statements made by their advertisers in business competition. Periodicals postage paid at Mahwah, NJ, and additional mailing offices. Subscription price for one year: $48 in the U.S. Rates outside the U.S. are available upon request. Single copy price: $10.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to FOOTWEAR PLUS, P.O. Box 8548, Lowell, MA 01853-8548. Publisher not responsible for unsolicited articles or photos. Any photographs, artwork, manuscripts, editorial samples or merchandise sent for editorial consideration are sent at the sole risk of the sender. Wainscot Media will assume no responsibility for loss or damage. No portion of this issue may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. ©2008 by Wainscot Media. Printed in the United States.

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Twisted X is dedicated to making your business successful by being your premier partner.

We do not follow the pack. We approach business through your eyes – and make decisions that will allow you to succeed. Your success is our success.

We are not direct-to-consumer. We are ONLY DIRECT-TO-YOU. We have inventory and continue to increase our inventories, so YOU can have inventory.

We have continued to design on our rapid development timeline, so YOU have fresh new inventory.

To learn more about all the ways we support our partners, visit TwistedX.com/Partners.

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E D I TOR’S NOT E

Huddle Up!

Ted Talk WE COULD REALLY use a Ted talk right now!

I don’t mean one of those speeches by experts from business, technology or education. We need a pep talk from Ted Lasso (a.k.a. Jason Sudeikis), coach of the fictional AFC Richmond Greyhounds, currently in the English Championship League, having heartbreakingly fallen from Premier League grace in the final episode of season one of the hit Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso.

Let’s face it, the world is a hot mess. It seems a lot more like a lost cause than usual. Fire, famine, war, crushing defeats, pestilence, 1,000-year floods… we could use a time out. We need to take a breather and regroup. We need to find a way to get off this losing streak. We need to believe in ourselves again. We need a leader who can motivate us to be better—to want to be better and do whatever that requires, even if it seems like a coach’s crazy mind games at first. We need reassurance from a world class optimist that—in the long run—everything is going to be okay. If we just work together as a team, keep the faith and “be a goldfish,” we can get through this dark stretch. We need Coach Lasso!

For those unfamiliar with the goldfish reference, it’s one of Lasso’s many pearls of motivational wisdom. The goldfish, Coach Lasso informs a dejected and homesick Nigerian defender, is the happiest animal in the world because it has a 10-second memory.

He uses the maxim to remind his dispirited player not to dwell on the negative. Instead of getting bogged down with what went wrong, forget it. Focus on the next match—and what you can do better.

There’s a lot I’d like to forget right now. For starters, I’d like to forget that neglecting to bring a mask everywhere I go has life-or-death consequences.

Alas, it’s still a necessary first line of defense, and a common courtesy to my fellow citizens/teammates. I’d also really like to forget that this month marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11, especially after the Taliban’s return to power. It feels like déjà vu all over again—in the most discouraging way.

The bad guys won. The realization that we are no safer than we were in the weeks and months following the 9/11 attacks is utterly demoralizing.

(My wife’s offices are located at the former Ground Zero, for starters.) And

millions of innocent Afghanis who joined our team have been abandoned.

So have our allies. How do we come back from such a devastating blow to everything our country is supposed to represent?

Borrow a lesson from Ted Lasso. Following a crushing loss that resulted in relegation to second-tier-league oblivion, Coach Lasso told his team to “lean on each other” and put the loss behind them. The message? All you can do is pick yourself up off the pitch, wipe the grass stains away and move forward.

This issue features several examples of steely resolve in the face of potentially career-ending setbacks. Gary Hauss, the latest contributor to our A Note to My Younger Self series (p. 22), bares his soul in explaining how the pandemic closed the doors of his 16-store J. Stephens chain, a familyowned business of 40 years. The veteran retailer pulls no punches about how the closure left him devastated, ashamed and struggling to get out of bed each morning. But rather than pull the plug on a half century in the shoe biz, Hauss is now reinventing himself as director of his expanded TheIRShow, slated for the San Diego Convention Center, Feb. 1–3, 2022. Hauss’ resilience and reinvention is inspiring. His once-again sunny disposition is reminiscent of Ted Lasso’s Dani Rojas, a mid-season import from Mexico whose infectious optimism outshines even Coach Lasso’s. His “futbol is life” mantra reminds us all to keep playing if, for nothing else, love of the game and life!

This month’s retail profile (p. 18) about Reyers’ move to a mall (after 135 years!) is a fine example of playing on. The story behind Mark and Steven Jubelirer’s decision to reverse their long-held, anti-mall stance is compelling. And the pair’s conviction that they have a new lease (literally) on life is inspiring. There’s a lot of Roy Kent, Ted Lasso’s grizzled and cranky captain/legend, in Mark Jubelirer. Like Kent, he’s a tireless fighter with an awe-inspiring track record, he tells it like it is, he refuses to quit and he’s determined to win. Here’s to all the tireless fighters who find a way to get it done.

Who knows what mayhem the future holds. The goldfish in me might want to hide behind the closest plant in the aquarium, but Coach Lasso taught me that every tomorrow brings another opportunity to try and do better than today. Believe!

Greg Dutter

Editorial Director

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THIS JUST IN

sole food

Yummy kicks at Smorgasburg in Los Angeles, the largest weekly open-air food market in America.

Photography by Tim Regas 6 footwearplusmagazine.com • september 2021

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SCENE & HEARD

TASM’s second show since the pandemic provided a muchneeded boost for the industry.

Atlanta Show Scores High Marks IT SURE BEATS Zoom! That pretty well sums up attendees’ assessment of The Atlanta Shoe Market (TASM) held recently at the Cobb Galleria Centre. To conduct business in-person, to flex the shoes, smell the leathers, see the true colors, talk shop, catch up on the family…it was a “reality” show in the best possible ways that, try as one might, can’t be replicated virtually. Other factors that made TASM a success include familiarity, a nearly sold-out space of approximately 760 exhibitors and healthy buyer attendance that spanned majors to leading independents from coast to coast, Delta variant be damned.

All in all, TASM came across just like previous editions that Executive Director Laura O’Brien has overseen in her four decades at the helm.

And that was exactly her goal: a format that conveyed business-as-usual despite the incredibly unusual circumstances. That sense of normalcy was found in the layout, décor (think lots of flowers), opening night cocktail party (held outside in an adjacent tent), NSRA education seminar…only temperature checks, wrist bands, hand sanitizer stations and masks were signs of an ongoing pandemic. It required a Herculean effort. “This has been the hardest show to pull off in my 40 years,” O’Brien says. “My expectations a month before were so high—we were sold out and expecting buyer attendance to surpass our February 2020 show—but a week before I didn’t know what to expect because of the Delta variant.” Fortunately, she says the show went beyond expectations in attendance and satisfaction. “People were just so happy to come together and conduct business the way our industry needs it to be done,” she says.

Gary Weiner, owner of Saxon Shoes in Richmond, VA, was one such

satisfied attendee. Marking his first in-person show since the pandemic, he says it was great to be back. “I enjoyed being in the ’hood again,” he says. “It’s always good to bump into retailers and wholesalers, some I’ve known for 30 or 40 years. There’s not one disadvantage to doing it inperson. As long as it’s safe, it’s the best way to see a lot of shoes quickly, compare and weigh, foster relationships, and just get a little intravenous shot of ‘footwear.’” As for what was on display, Weiner reports plenty of composite clogs and slides, and 20 brands with Hey Dude slip-ons, a.k.a.

Sanuk Sidewalk Surfers. “Every brand has more and more athletics, along with their Birkenstock versions,” he says. “We did find some fun looks at Chocolat Blu and L’Artiste.”

Lester Wasserman, co-owner of Tip Top Shoes and West NYC in New York, agrees that being on the show floor beat virtual buying. “Buyers need to touch the leathers, scrutinize the lasts, see colors—none of which is possible on even the greatest Zoom presentation,” he says. Overall, he reports buyers and wholesalers were enthusiastic about the future, although that varied depending on location. “Big cities continue to be much slower to bounce back than smaller towns and resort areas,” he says. “So there’s life after Covid, but tourists from the U.S. and EU are still missing from places like New York. However, we remain optimistic as vendors kept mentioning that they’re selling dress shoes.”

Max Harrell, vice president Global Sales for Ron White Shoes, reports its buyers were in an order-writing mood—for both its dress and sneaker collections. “Our luxury sneakers continue to blow out everywhere,” he says.

“We also saw a strong response to our sandals and special occasion >39

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SCENE & HEARD

P H OTO C R E D I T: S C OT T M A R T I N / O U T D O O R R E TA I L E R

Outdoor Retailer Rocks On “Although traffic was down and it was DESPITE A MOUNTAIN of virusa smaller scale than years past, those related challenges, Outdoor Retailer’s attending were business leaders,” he recent Summer Market in Denver fared reports. “It was great to meet with the pretty well, according to show organizers decision-makers who were interested and attendees. It also marked the first in our technology and discuss how they time the outdoor community gathered could integrate our products into their in-person since January 2020, which businesses.” Israel adds that traffic was was reason alone to celebrate. very steady. “We provided a unique “It was incredible to be back together experience at our booth by offering a foot again,” says Marisa Nicholson, show scan (on its recently introduced Albert director. “Nothing replaces the value of 3DFit device), drawing in attendees,” he in-person meetings. Plus, learning about says. “They were excited to learn how new gear is really a tactile experience, so it can optimize their business by drivthe ability to test products up close was ing store traffic, increasing conversion great for buyers, as well as for brands rates and reducing online returns. They as they can present their brand story as witnessed the speed and accuracy, and they want it to be told.” how easy our system can integrate into While Nicholson reports traffic was their existing POS systems.” Israel adds, down overall, it was expected amid a “We converted some new retailers, and pandemic made even scarier by the spread we look forward to building these into of the Delta variant. Many companies long-standing partnerships.” remain under travel restrictions and Destination Denver: The outdoor industry gathered for That try-on factor proved beneficial others that planned to attend cancelled the first time in 18 months to see what’s “in” for the outdoors. to Oofos, as well. The recovery brand last minute. Overall, it was like the introduced its Oocandoo line targeted at the outdoor adventurer and industry dipped its toe in the show’s waters again. “For those able to be in traveler. Darren Brown, head of marketing, says visitors experienced Denver, it was a great show,” she says. “Many exhibitors reported meeting walking in what many consider the “best-feeling Oofos style to date.” new buyers, writing orders and making more connections, and retailers Mission accomplished. “The reception was phenomenal,” he says. And were glad to find a variety of new products and brands.” Nicholson adds, while attendance was light overall, Brown reports traffic was steady and “We look forward to welcoming more of the community back next year it allowed for more meaningful meetings.

(Jan. 26-28 and June 9-11).”

Jim Mavor, vice president of sales for Lamo, reports similar “better than Christina Gaddy, vice president U.S. sales for Cougar Shoes, reports expected” traffic. “We were pleased with amount of quality accounts we that its first major show in-person since the pandemic went swimmingly. met with,” he says. “We wrote a lot of business. Most were still buying for “It was very worthwhile, and after months of zooming we were thrilled the season at hand, but looking at the future more serious than last year!” to re-engage with the familiar faces of our buyers and the entire Outdoor Mavor cites its non-sheepskin Lamo Lite collection as receiving a strong Retailer community,” she says. Gaddy says traffic overall was quality over reaction. Slippers showed no let-up, either. “Buyers finally understand quantity, which allowed for in-depth meeting amid safer environs. “We people wear them year-round,” he notes, adding that, above all, having saw a handful of majors and worked with our valued specialty retailers inventory was of particular interest to buyers. “The common show thread who’ve helped establish Cougar’s footprint in the U.S.,” she says, noting was those who had inventory thrived, and will continue to do so.” that the general mood of buyers was upbeat. “Everyone was in great Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the OR show was how the category spirits. The OR community is tight-knit—I equate it to a family reunion. is extremely healthy overall. Participation and sales are at record levels There were lots of fist bumps and air hugs, and catching up on business in the bike, paddle, camping and hiking categories, among others. The and personal lives. It felt good!” pandemic has ushered in a wave of participants who have discovered/ What also felt good, Gaddy says, was the strong response to Cougar’s rediscovered the physical and mental benefits associated with outdoor refreshed rain collection featuring new styles that generated plenty of activities. “It’s paved the way for new brands to emerge with innovative orders. The company’s expanded sandal package—with fresh silhouettes new products with sustainable and affordable options, and to keep retail and designs plus a nuanced and elevated color palette—also showed well. shelves full,” Nicholson says, noting the show had more than 130 new “Sandals are a fast-growing category and an area we expect major growth brands exhibiting. “Retailers are always on the lookout for new products, in for Spring ’22,” she says, noting that Cougar sits at the crossroads of and as more people turn to the outdoors, many for the first time, it creates outdoor fashion and function. “Our entire spring/summer collection is an opportunity to grow and diversify the outdoor community.” water-repellent and stain-resistant. It not only looks great, it performs.

Brown concurs: “Retailers and consumers are actively seeking That’s our point of difference that has served us well pre-pandemic and new products to enhance their exploration and passions at all levwe believe is future-proof.” els. Servicing those desires should create a ripe industry for all to Jason Israel, Aetrex’s senior vice president of Business Development, flourish.” —Greg Dutter Technology & Orthotics, reports a similar positive show experience.

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SCENE & HEARD

Earth Shoes on Solid Ground EARTH SHOES IS now on more solid ground, thanks to the recent majority investment into the Waltham, MA-based comfort and wellness company by Windsong Global, a private investment firm. The company’s portfolio includes Earth, Earth Spirit, Earth Elements, Earth Origins and Kalso brands, along with the recently licensed Tamaris.

Mark Parsley, recently named CEO of Earth Shoes, says the investment will enable the company to do more of what it’s been doing for 50-plus years, only on a much grander scale. “The partnership with Windsong allows us to grow not just into more markets, but the resources to build new products and impact more people than ever,” he says. “We’re excited to see where the next 50 years take us.”

Becoming more of a lifestyle brand in part of that destination. “One of the most exciting areas of focus is being known for more than just footwear,” Parsley says. “We’ve already begun our due diligence to expand our lifestyle brand to ultimately include apparel, accessories and other product categories that align to our mission and dedication to serve our loyal customers.” The fact that sustainability is increasingly important to consumers makes this expansion more timely as Earth Shoes has long been committed to eco-friendly design, as well as social fairness in its partnerships. “In many ways the Earth brand was ahead of its time, and now more than ever the time is right to leverage our sustainability platform,” Parsley says. “We’ll reposition to a lifestyle brand with the help of Windsong to scale our business to new customers and product categories, but our biggest ethos will be focused on our tag line: ‘Build a Better Earth.’”

Parsley, who joined Earth in 2020 as president (prior to that he was president of Creative Recreation for two years and executive vice president of Marc Fisher for a decade Mark Parsley, CEO, earlier) assures all parties are on the same Earth Shoes page in terms of goals. “Both of us wanted to ensure a partnership would be beneficial for everyone,” he says, adding that the company spoke with many potential investors before deciding on Windsong. “We’ve spent many years creating a trusted brand, and it’s incredibly important that we don’t fall short in this area, regardless of potential growth.”

The feeling is mutual, according to William Sweedler, chairman and CEO of Windsong. “Earth has established itself as a leading and trusted brand in comfort footwear (since the brand’s inception it has sold more than 150 million pairs of shoes), and I believe significant expansion opportunities exist within the sector as well as opportunities to leverage its strong intellectual property and brand equity into new categories,” he says. “The brand is incredibly relevant to consumer sentiment today and we’re excited to dedicate the resources, capital and relationships to propel the company into its next chapter of growth.”

Earth Shoes marks the fifth investment made by Windsong in its current investment platform, which includes purchases of SWIMS and Robeez. Since its founding in 2006, the firm and its predecessor funds have completed 58 transactions in excess of $10 billion of value. Terms of the Earth Shoes deal were not disclosed.

Rising LPGA star Lexi Thompson.

Aetrex Tees up Golfer Endorsement AETREX, A LEADER in foot scanning technology, orthotics and comfort and wellness footwear, has inked an endorsement deal with Lexi Thompson, LPGA Champion, Tokyo 2020 Olympic athlete and one of the most-credentialed players at a young age. (Thompson became the youngest golfer to ever qualify to play in the U.S. Women’s Open at age 12, turned professional at age 15 and won her first major championship at age 19.) Already a longtime customer, Thompson has been leveraging Aetrex orthotics to enhance her performance during training and tournaments.

“Before using Aetrex orthotics, I was suffering through a lot of foot pain, especially after a long day of training or while playing four rounds at a tournament,” Thompson states. “Three years ago, I decided to test a few orthotics and found that Aetrex’s Compete orthotics worked best because they helped compensate for the low arch of my feet. They instantly made my golf shoes more comfortable and supportive, which has helped optimize my power transfer on the field and my overall stability.” Thompson adds, “I can now regularly walk over 35 miles a week, as is common during training or when playing in a multi-round tournament, with no pain at all. I even wear them in my regular day-to-day shoes!”

Aetrex’s Compete orthotics are designed with proprietary, strategically placed arch support and feature high-tech, lightweight, premium shockabsorbing materials, enhancing the user’s overall foot health. Designed to address various causes of foot pain, including plantar fasciitis, flat feet, ball of foot discomfort and heel pain, the orthotics provide biomechanical alignment, keeping the foot closer to the neutral position throughout the gait cycle. Proper alignment helps minimize overpronation and reduces stress on the plantar fascia, knees, hips and back.

Larry Schwartz, CEO of Aetrex, says Thompson is above par (in a good way) for several key reasons to be a spokesperson for the company.

“First, she’s one of the most-credentialed golf players at a young age,” he says. “Second, she has an authentic relationship with our product and our brand, so it was a natural next step.” Schwartz adds, “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Lexi to bring more awareness of our orthotics into the golfing arena and beyond.”

Over the coming months, Aetrex will be sharing a variety of content on aertex.com and its social media channels, where Thompson will share her orthotics experience, bringing awareness of their benefits for athletic performance. “Lexi is a great brand ambassador in the golf world and a natural choice for Aetrex,” Schwartz says. “She found Aetrex orthotics to be the best fit for her, providing the comfort, support and alignment she needs to perform at her best.”

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

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THINK THONGS

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The summer staple in an array of shades and prints is a shore bet.

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TRAIL FIX Wo m e n ’ s t r a i l r u n n e r s f i n d t h e m i d d l e g r o u n d : l i g h t e r t h a n a hiker and more protective than a sport sandal.

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8/27/21 7:28 AM

Leadership Conference November 3 & 4, 2021 El Conquistador Resort Tucson, AZ

Don’t miss the return of our premier members-only event of the year. . .

NSRA brings retailers and vendors together to help strengthen the future of independent footwear retailing.

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8/24/2021 10:16:13 AM 8/27/21 7:51 AM

Reyers Goes to the Mall

After more than 135 years in freestanding and strip locations— including one billed as the “world’s largest shoe store”—Reyers has relocated to a mall, of all places. Here’s why. By Greg Dutter

T

HE NEWS THAT Reyers has moved out of Pennsylvania after well over a century doing business along the western edge of the Keystone state (first in Pittsburgh and, since 1956, in Sharon) is big enough.

The fact that it chose to set up shop in the Eastwood Mall in nearby Niles, OH, (Cleveland Browns country, no less!) is bigger. The fact that brothers Mark and Steven Jubelirer, president and vice president of the third-generation-owned operation, chose a mall is huge news.

For starters, malls haven’t exactly been the end-all, be-all location for several years—and that has been exacerbated by the pandemic. They’ve been written off by plenty of pundits in the Amazon Age as white elephants, mausoleums, ghost towns…you get the picture. Beyond that, the Jubelirers, like their father and grandfather before them, have been longtime, mall oppositionists. Reyers survived two World Wars, 9/11, the Financial Crisis and a host of outside pressures—all without being in a mall. They stood firm against big box, discounters, online dealers and all comers (including malls) without leaving their freestanding and strip locations.

In fact, it was their anti-mall stance that brought Reyers to prominence.

Back in the ’80s and ’90s, the then 36,000-square-foot shoe mecca drew

900 busloads of shoppers annually—customers of all ages from as far away as Toronto, Cincinnati and the Carolinas made a pilgrimage to shop Reyers’ awe-inspiring inventory of 100,000 pairs. The Jubelirers took the “bigger is better” concept to unprecedented heights. Reyers was its own anchor, topped off by topnotch service and a massive selection in sizes and widths from women’s 4 to 14 and men’s 6 to 22 and from super slim to 6E. The hard-to-fit masses, in particular, saw Reyers as their only shoe salvation, providing the store a substantial and reliable return customer base season after season—no mall needed.

So why did Reyers reduce its footprint by more than 25,000 square feet, beginning with its soft opening last month, and move to a mall of all places?

What changed?

In a word: traffic. Specifically, a lack thereof in its previous location, says Mark Jubelirer. While Sharon, PA, is a relatively short, half-hour drive from Reyers’ new digs, Jubelirer says it’s a world away in terms of traffic. Sharon is a depressed steel mill town. Or, as a quick Google search revealed: “Sharon was once a good place to be from; now it’s not a good town to go back to.”

There simply aren’t enough people who live there or pass through regularly to support a large store format like Reyers’, according to Jubelirer.

“During the last couple of decades our small-town business district had seen diminishing traffic,” Jubelirer explains. The bus trips dried up after other nearby draws closed. “Besides, the bus clientele now go to casinos and shop online. Car traffic from Buffalo, Cleveland and Pittsburgh also fell

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Reyers new digs in the upscale Eastwood Mall Complex in Niles, OH.

about becoming a tenant in its Eastwood Mall Complex in Niles. Cafaro had been courting Reyers for years but had been spurned repeatedly by the anti-mall Jubelirers. “No Jubelirer in history ever believed that Reyers would become a mall-based store,” Jubelirer says. “The knock-on malls, from an old-school shoe man’s point of view, is that they are all pretty much the same—the same stores, the same mindset, the same look, etc.”

Jubelirer believes this assessment still holds true, but there are exceptions—and he firmly believes the Eastwood mall is one. “Eastwood is a mall of a different color,” he says. “It is reputed to be the ‘best mall in Ohio.’ It’s the business and social hub of the region.”

The Eastwood mall features more than 50 stores housed in 1.6 million square feet. Anchor tenants include Dillard’s, Home Depot, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Target and (opening next month) Boscov’s. Other national chains include Dick’s Sporting Goods, Shoe Carnival, Foot Locker, Finish Line, Journeys, H&M, TJ Maxx, Michael’s and Men’s Wearhouse, among others. Adjacent to the mall is Eastwood Field, home of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers minor league baseball team.

Additional nearby draws are an event center, Brothers in arms: Mark and Steven Jubelirer a Hampton Inn and a Residence Inn as well

off. And foot traffic is way down—the vagrants ambling down the streets were not our customers. All in all, we were no longer able to survive in that downtown.”

Niles, on the other hand, has lots of traffic. “Taken altogether, there is more foot and car traffic in the immediate area and surroundings of our new location than any other area in the region,” Jubelirer says. That’s a must for what is still a large footprint store. “We’re built to do a lot of business, and that was increasingly difficult to do in our downtown strip plaza.”

RETAIL REBIRTH Reyers’ move to a mall was no kneejerk decision.

The Jubelirers had seen the handwriting on the wall for its Sharon location for some time, and they’d been searching for the ideal new location for several years. They considered a mall and a plaza a couple of miles east of downtown Sharon, but neither had viable space for Reyers, so the search expanded to other areas around downtown Sharon, as well as business districts in the county. Finding the right fit was proving a real challenge.

As fate would have it, though, an old suitor reappeared with a solution. The Cafaro Company, a premier mall developer, reached out to Reyers

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Reyers is putting its illustrious 135-year shoe history front and center in its new mall location.

as numerous restaurants, including Buffalo Wild Wings, Red Lobster, Outback Steakhouse and Bob Evans. “The mall is the Cafaro Company headquarters and we avail ourselves of their marketing team,” Jubelirer says, noting that Boscov’s will be located just around the corner from Reyers. “We’ll ride their marketing coattails too.”

Jubelirer believes the proximity of several national shoe chains will provide additional traffic. “We used to say that if a big, important chain had a store across the street from us, we could live off their walkouts,” he says. “Well, now we have a big handful of them right around the corner. We intend to draft in their wakes.” Jubelirer is confident that Reyers’ service and product knowledge will be big draws and a difference-makers for shoppers. “We know that only independents offer outstanding service; after all, we are merchants,” he says. “Big box stores and national chains are money-changers, constrained

by accountants. Quality service costs money; this is a line item they won’t indulge. We should look good in comparison.”

Reyers’ new home, a former Forever 21, is big (enough) at 14,000 square feet and already brilliantly lit, with bright white floors and walls, and a ceiling that fits perfectly with Reyers’ new black-and-white color scheme, according to Jubelirer. As for the selection, he says the proximity of competitors will force Reyers to expand the vendor matrix in order to be more competitive and to fill the needs of a greater and more diverse marketplace.

That assortment will evolve over time. “Our inventory will be on a growth trajectory as we engage more customers in every demographic,” Jubelirer says. “Adding new vendors is always fun to do, but we have more demanding terms than before.”

In the near term, Reyers’ selection of leading comfort brands (think Birkenstock,

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Clarks, Dansko, Ecco and Ugg) and traffic draws like Skechers, Dr. Martens, Steve Madden and New Balance are front and center in the new location. One category didn’t make the move. “We made a business decision to no longer carry kids’; we couldn’t even fit them in,” Jubelirer says. Above all, he says the brands that remain part of the Reyers mix will be those that view business as a two-way street. “We welcome real partnerships, and are thankful that our usual roster of vendors continues in that tradition,” he says. “As we carry forward each and every member of our staff with us, we treat our vendors the same way. No one is left behind.”

Speaking of staff, Jubelirer credits them for Reyers’ success. It’s why the store retained all employees willing to make the move to Niles. It’s also why he is sure Reyers’ level of service will remain best in class. “Selling shoes is a difficult job, but our employees come to work every day with nary a complaint,” he says. “They win national service awards all the time. They are Reyers.”

NO LOOKING BACK The world continues to adapt at breakneck speed to the pandemic-induced new normal. The ways people live, work, shop and dress are shifting dramatically—and continually. So perhaps it’s not surprise that Reyers, too, finds itself in a place it never envisioned in its 135-year history.

Standing pat amid such epic upheaval was simply not a viable option. For starters, trying to be a huge brick-and-mortar store up against endless aisles of online competitors is a fool’s errand.

It why the Jubelirer brothers decided to move to this mall—before the pandemic, as they were already in lease negotiations in March 2020. Reyers relocation was no pandemic pivot. The pandemic only delayed the move until a whiff of optimism this summer (pre-Delta variant) allowed them to follow through.

Father Time was another factor prompting the move. “My brother and I are becoming of retirement age, and so it had become decision time for us,” Jubelirer explains. “It was clear to us that we should continue our father’s legacy, but that we had to make a monumental move in order to do it.” He credits Reyers’ longtime accountant for helping cement that decision. “She had informed us that we couldn’t sustain our business in downtown Sharon; we must soon close or move,” he recalls. “She’s whip smart and crunches numbers for a living, so we listened intently. Besides, she’s my brother’s wife.”

Of course the bigger the change, the harder it can be. Not long ago, the Jubelirers thought Reyers felt cramped at 36,000 square feet. This is back when the store carried AAAAA widths, because AAAA widths weren’t always narrow enough. But people’s feet have changed, and brands have pretty much stopped making those sizes once the bigger orders of department stores ceased. “Virtually everything has changed since the days when our father ran the business,” Jubelirer says.

“The obvious differences are that peoples’ needs have changed, and that now they can get shoes delivered without driving to a store.”

So Reyers now finds itself changing with the times, in an A-list mall, in a more manageable and affordable space, with new neighbors that should help draw traffic. “Our new venue affords us everything we could ask for, and our new landlords have been great,” Jubelirer says. The aspect that hasn’t changed is Reyers’ commitment to offering best-in-class style, service and selection. “We continue to search high and low to support our loyal customers who have been coming to us forever,” he says. “That is Reyers.

“We hope to look back on this move as something we should have done sooner, and we’d love to think that our father would look upon this monumental undertaking with his blessing.” •

“We hope to look back on this move as something we should have done sooner, and we’d love to think that our father would look upon this monumental undertaking with his blessing.”

SO FAR, SO GOOD As far as soft openings go—during a raging fourth wave of Covid-19, no less—Jubelirer can’t complain. While the store did no business during its week-long move-in process, his employees made the move-in as seamless as possible and Reyers saw an “appreciable uptick in business” in the first several days of reopening. “As these are the dog days of summer, it’s reassuring that we’re beating last year’s numbers,” he says.

Jubelirer anticipates continued sales growth this fall—beginning with the grand opening celebration on Sept.

9. Expect plenty of shoe pomp and circumstance, headlined by a giveaway promotion offering $10,000 worth of free shoes. As for the holidays and 2021, Jubelirer says the outlook is refreshingly positive and hopeful—a welcome change from recent years. “Unless the ghosts of Covid return to haunt us, Q4 will afford us increased traffic the likes of which we haven’t witnessed in a long time,” he says, adding that store hours have expanded to 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Sundays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) to meet the expected demand. “Malls are famous for Q4, and we’ll be smack dab in the middle of the best mall in Ohio!”

Looking further out, Jubelirer has even greater expectations. In five years, he projects Reyers will be the established, go-to venue for footwear in its market. “The competition won’t be big box stores that have their inventories on their selling floors, yet no professional salespersons,” he says. “It won’t be department stores with their gorgeous layouts and hard-to-find staff. It won’t be the many fashionable salons in the mall which, oh by the way, also happen to sell some shoes. It won’t be the small shoe stores, which sell a lot of red-hot brands for the teenage and college set. The competition will be us.”

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

ROCK BOTTOM RISING G a r y Ha u s s , f o r m e r p r e s i d e n t / C E O o f J. S t e p h e n s a n d h e a d o f T h e I R S h o w, o n h o w t h e p a n d e m i c c h a n g e d e v e r y t h i n g f o r t h e w o r s e — a n d p o t e n t i a l l y b e t t e r.

Hey Gar, Time to buckle your seatbelt. The next year or so is going to be one bumpy ride! It’ll be a time like no other—not just for you, not just for J. Stephens, but for the entire world. Everything is about to change, and I mean everything.

But 2020 sure doesn’t start out that way. January and February, in fact, are outstanding! Those two months break company records as we receive over $1 million worth of new spring inventory. The forecast looks so promising…until it doesn’t.

In March, the world comes to a screeching halt as the Covid-19 pandemic rears its ugly head. At first, you’re skeptical and think the media is in hype mode. But then you receive government orders for mandatory business closures and stay-at-home orders.

What the hell?!

March 18th is forever etched in your mind.

That’s the day J. Stephens posts on its doors: “Due to the pandemic, we will be closed until further notice.” Still, you think the shutdown will last a few weeks and then life will return to normal. You plan for business-as-usual. But the wait stretches from weeks into months.

Meanwhile, everything gets worse—really worse. School closures, empty grocery store shelves, mask mandates, hours just to enter Costco…there’s even a toilet paper shortage!

But this is no laughing matter. Millions of people will die from this vicious virus. Millions more will lose their jobs—you included.

(More on that bombshell in a bit.) Zoom calls become the norm along with new words and catchphrases that we quickly come to hate, like asymptomatic, contactless, remote, pivot, zoom, social distancing, new normal, nice to e-meet you and you’re on mute. (That last one is just for you! lol) Fortunately, our family, for the most part, comes through this crisis okay. We hunker down and maintain contact within our little pod.

Sadly, though, Dalty (dad) moved into a senior living apartment just before the pandemic and you won’t see him for months. During this isolation, his mind deteriorates. He’s no longer the man you turned to for all your business advice. It’s a very dark and difficult time.

In July, though, things appear to get a little better. Some stores are allowed to reopen, but at ridiculously reduced capacities. It’s just not sustainable for J. Stephens. You furlough most employees, a heartbreak-

ing decision as most have been with us for decades. Similarly, vendor partners work with us for a while, but reality eventually sets in. While many retailers pivot and offer curbside pickup, that’s not an option.

We have no curbsides among our 16 locations inside malls scattered mostly in Southern California. It’s a perfect storm.

You never imagined this day would come, but Covid-19 will end our family business of 40 years! And Dalty—your rock, sounding board and biggest fan—can’t help. The fear of no longer being in the industry you love alongside colleagues you admire consumes you with despair. You feel anger, shame and sadness. You feel like a failure. Just getting out of bed each day is difficult. You feel like you’ve hit rock bottom. By fall of 2020, you contemplate retirement, putting a cap on almost 50 years in the shoe biz. But that’s just not who you are! You tell yourself you must get out of bed! You can’t let the darkness get the best of you! There’s light at the end of every tunnel. You dig deep, determined to at least remain hopeful.

As winter approaches, your children, Bobbi and Jason, are your new sounding boards.

Their insights are invaluable as you close out J. Stephens over the ensuing months. You brainstorm together and find light in all this darkness. Believe it or not, as 2020 finally comes to an end, you’re excited about the future again.

Jason gets the offer of a lifetime, working for NASA. Bobbi becomes your partner in your next chapter. The timing is perfect to introduce a new-and-improved trade show concept. A show that’s bigger, better and, most of all, fun!

You dive in, working hard on delivering an experience that’ll be unlike all other shows. There is no time to be depressed! You get your head out of your a$$ and enjoy creating something special. TheIRShow will be held Feb. 1-3, 2022 at the San Diego Convention Center. You have found a way to stay in the industry you love and continue working with the people who inspire you!

So hang in there, buddy! Good things are on the horizon. To quote Winston Churchill: “Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” You have the courage, and you will succeed again!

Sincerely, Gary

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PRESENTED BY

FOP SEPT 2021.indd 23

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Molded EVA wedge

by Dansko.

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Soft Comfort perforated leather wrap sandals.

Opposite: canvas sneaker by Taos.

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Clockwise from top: Biza perforated leather sandal; jute and leather espadrille by Andre Assous; Acorn sport sandal. Opposite: Buckled wedge by Aetrex.

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Oboz fisherman sport sandal. Opposite: Woven leather mule by Seychelles.

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Knit platform by Remonte. Opposite: Quoddy buckled wrap sandals.

Fashion editor: Ann Loynd Burton; Model: Zoie Zeller/Fenton Model Mgmt; Photo Assistant: Tara Campbell

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U P C L O S E AT H L E T I C

PF Flyers Ready to Soar

Under new sneaker royalty ownership, the iconic brand looks to spread its wings.

IN AN ERA when old-school sneaker brands and styles rule, few have the rich pedigree of PF Flyers. Founded in 1937 by B.F. Goodrich and most recently under the ownership of New Balance, it’s considered an OG of sneaker brands.

But to say it’s tapped into classic kicks renaissance, a la the Adidas Superstar, Nike Air Force 1, Vans Slip-on, etc., etc., would be an understatement.

PF Flyers has been in the hangar for years—until now. Kassia Davis, daughter of New Balance founder Jim Davis, acquired the brand earlier this year and is taxiing to its relaunch this fall with high expectations.

“I’ve always felt that this brand is iconic; it’s an American classic with so much history and authenticity, and I’m very passionate about evolving it into the brand that it has the potential to be,” Davis says, adding that the timing is ideal for a relaunch. “Our ‘new normal’ has influenced and forced a lot of lifestyle shifts, including how people shop and dress. Now more than ever, consumers are prioritizing comfort when they get dressed and a versatile shoe, like our Center Lo or Hi, that works perfectly with any range of outfits—from jeans and a tee to a sweater dress with your favorite purse.”

In addition to being on-trend, Davis cites brand attributes of versatility, an opportunity for personalization and a balance of heritage and relevance as boding well for the relaunch. “Part of what I love about this brand is that it appeals to such a broad range of consumers,” Davis offers. “Every style we offer is a simple and versatile silhouette with an opportunity to express individuality and creativity based on a consumer’s style.”

That overarching style aesthetic starts this fall with a focus first on bringing back full size runs of core/existing styles in best-selling colors for men, women and kids. “Fall 2022 is when the real fun starts!” Davis says. “I’m excited to launch with re-engineered versions of our existing consumers’ favorite styles as well as female-focused designs. As we modernize this classic brand, we’ll look for ways to continue to connect with today’s consumer in fun, fresh and relevant ways.”

It goes without saying that Davis has strong sneaker DNA. Her father built a multi-billion empire that features its fair share of iconic styles. As for any Golden Rules passed down from dad, Davis cites one in particular. “The qual-

ity of a product should always be the priority,” she says. “And my mom taught me that company culture, brand values and employees are just as important as the product. These two golden rules guide me every day.”

Davis has her own extensive career background to rely on, as well. She remains founder and CEO of KADA, maker of sustainably made women’s apparel essentials. Prior to that, she spent 10-plus years at New Balance, where she held the role of Apparel Product Manager for Studio, Lifestyle, which included a successful collaboration with Heidi Klum. Additionally, she was the Strategic Account Manager for the partnership between New Balance and Nordstrom, and then became the Director of DYC Merchandising for the company’s global flagship stores and ecommerce. Along those lines, Davis says the relaunch will kickoff with a DTC platform while it identifies key retail partners who have been “loyal to the brand in the past and can help connect with our key consumers going forward.”

Davis believes being a female CEO in an industry still dominated by men offers another unique perspective, particularly for PF Flyers. “Historically, it’s been one of those brands that treats women as an afterthought—designs haven’t been catered to women and, for the most part, women have only been offered smaller sizes in men’s styles,” she says. “I’ve always been very passionate about women supporting women, and I’m so excited to offer women versatile options that can be personalized and worn every day.” Davis adds, “The brand already has a loyal following, but adding a women’s angle to the strategy will 100 percent enable us to expand our customer base tremendously.”

That female focus aside, Davis has also tapped D’Wayne Edwards, founder of the Pensole Footwear Design Academy, to join the PF Flyers board. Edwards is slated to lead the creative direction for the first year while the company searches for full-time hires.

“He brings so much knowledge, creativity, diversity and decades of experience to the table,” Davis says. “D’Wayne is an icon in the industry, and no one understand the ins and outs of the footwear design process like he does.” In addition, Davis is very excited to be working with some Pensole students. “Not only will we be offering them a unique and rewarding opportunity to be a part of the relaunch of an iconic brand, but a lot of D’wayne’s students embody the Kassia Davis, owner, PF Flyers PF Flyers target consumer—and they’ll help us shape the brand vision,” she says. “We’re fortunate to be able to tap into this pool of talent.”

As for the distant flight path ahead, Davis foresees enormous opportunities for PF Flyers. “The plan is to stay true to the heritage of the brand while incorporating product that’s more relevant to today’s consumer,” she says.

“The sky’s the limit!” —Greg Dutter

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UPCLOSE C AT OH MLFEOTRT IC

Fresh takes on the run way by Enjoiya and Secret Celebrity.

The Race is On

Enjoiya Group launches two running collections.

THERE IS NO time like the present to get in the running—literally. That’s what the Enjoiya Group, makers of Soft Comfort, Enjoiya and Secret Celebrity, has done with the soft launch this summer of two functional running collections under the latter two brands. CEO Frank Cammarata says, above all, that the pandemic made him do it.

“The timing of our launch feels natural,” Cammarata says. “With many people being isolated from family, friends and business associates, running gives you the opportunity to recharge, be in the fresh air and work out safely.

Even when things return to normal, people will likely work from home more frequently and exercise more due to that flex-time. Plus, the consumer is always looking for something new and fresh. We’re confident that by then we’ll have earned our way into this sector of the business.”

In what is a very crowded and established field, Cammarata believes the brands’ blend of performance and comfort features with unique styling (think mixed-media materials and bold colors) will break down barriers. It’s a recipe for success today that he says demands all three ingredients. “The sneaker category has become a dress-up and dress-down lifestyle staple,” he says. “Hence, our new sneaker collections skillfully merge fashion, function and comfort that enhance the lifestyle use of the shoes, thus increasing mass appeal.”

For Enjoiya and its debut Val-Venosta series (named after a region in Italy known for its scenic walking trails) that recipe is led by proprietary Extralight performance outsoles and removable padded insoles with enhanced heel cushioning. Ultra-light in weight, the foam outsoles add softness and flexibility to a basic running shoe, according to Cammarata. Uppers and linings are made of Nappa leather and incorporate modern fashion elements like metallics, python snake embellishments and laser-cut perforated designs. Updated classic color combinations—such as black-on-black, jet black snake with silver, white and black, and wine with cream—set a stylish pace. The SRP is $129.95 to $199.95,

and the collection comes in European sizes 36-41.

For Secret Celebrity’s MIA collection, the theme is authentic American sports style, Cammarata says. The shoes feature a removeable insole, consisting of comfort heel seats, raised arch support and toe bars for a secure fit adaptability.

Plus, the outsole provides durability, support and flexibility. Bright, on-trend colors include navy, plum and gray, as well as racy zebra and leopard prints.

The SRP ranges from $69.99 to $89.99. Sizes run from 6-11.

In a field that spans multi-billion stalwarts to fast-growing upstarts, Cammarata believes there room for at least two more brands to make a living. For starters, the running sector is rapidly growing overall and one that he believes is “wide open.” Besodes, Cammarata doesn’t fret what other brands are doing. “We don’t obsess too much about the contrast from other brands, because every look, every price and every technology is basically already out there. It can drive you crazy,” he says. “We just focus on what we do best: design, style, functionality, comfort, fit, value and, of course, consistency.

Once we earn the initial shelf space, we’ll build it, brick by brick, as we learn more about our consumer.” Case in point: Cammarata says that following the successful test runs this summer, the Boxborough, MA-based company will be adding a higher percentage of wide widths into both expanded collections starting this fall.

Looking further out, Cammarata says running marks just the beginning of the Enjoiya Groups’s athletic market pursuits—but not until running is on solid ground. “Our running launches have been very well-received to date,” he says. “And ongoing technology research, development and engineering remain a key focus, but there’s always room for progress in those areas. So once we’re completely satisfied with the execution and results of our running shoe product, we expect to first add cross-training and hiking classifications.” —G.D. 2021 september • footwearplusmagazine.com 35

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EDITOR’S PICKS

Gola

DESIGNER CHAT •

VIVAIA

TRASH NEVER LOOKED so good. At least that’s what the team behind Vivaia, a sustainablythemed brand, believes its “conscious comfort” collection of mules, booties, slides, slip-ons, ballet flats, sandals, espadrilles, pumps and loafers made of recylced plastic bottle uppers reflects.

In fact, Brand Director Marina Chen believes Vivaia hits on today’s Holy Grail of women’s fashion: style, sustainability and affordability (SRP: $69-$119).

“It took us a while to figure it out, but our fashionable footwear looks high-end but is made from recycled plastic bottle materials,” Chen says. “Women who are committed to reducing their carbon footprint—and don’t want to support plastics that harm the earth’s ecosystems—finally have it all!”

Chen says Vivaia shoes offer the same comfort of high-end fabrics and textiles. The brand’s 3D knit technology is a soft but durable weave, providing airflow and flexibility for different foot shapes and sizes. Insoles are made of similar recycled fibers and the outsoles are biodegradable natural rubber. “This is better than suede, better than leather and it’s good for the earth, too,” Chen says.

For Spring ’22, Vivaia’s focus is on offering the “preppiest” sneakers, the chicest sandals and eye-popping accents, according to Chen. “We’re going all in on the details, accenting every woven, upcycled element with neutral shades,” she says. “We have shoes perfect for the office, a day out or a night on the town. Neutrality is the perfect note, because it provides maximal mix-and-match opportunities for the woman on the go.” Chen, who has 20 years of experience in sourcing and supply chain management, adds that the sustainable materials the one-year-old Vivaia uses offer plenty of design versatility going forward. “These raw materials can be reimagined in endless ways—from new weaves and textures to fresh designs and heel heights,” she says. “The sky’s the limit, and we’re going for it with each new collection.”

How would you describe Vivaia’s overall design aesthetic? It’s a high-end aesthetic coupled with elite comfort. Our shoes are stylish, timeless and classic with a twist. We’ve spared nothing to craft shoes with great attention to detail, ensuring the right fit and flair for each style. You may see it in our simple and precise styling; we’re fans of Apple. Steve Jobs had such a unique and exacting process, and we love the care that Apple brings to everything they do. It’s the perfect balance between beauty and practicality.

Who is the Vivaia woman? She is committed to doing right by the

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

MARINA CHEN

Rackle

Aetrex

C OMP L ET E FAB R I CAT I O NS Hemp and denim have these classic kicks covered.

earth, leaving a legacy of thoughtfulness and supporting sustainability at every turn.

This elegant woman is also passionate about being chic and well put together. It’s why we offer footwear for every lifestyle.

Has the pandemic impacted your approach to design? It’s forced us to strengthen supply chain partnerships, while remaining true to our values. More people than ever are paying attention to the relationships between nature and humanity. Women want to dress their best, but not have the environment pay the price. It’s why we are committed to offering exceptional quality and unwavering authenticity with regards to sustainable design. We’re passionate about giving every woman what they want and need in eco-friendly footwear.

Many say heels are not part of the so-called new normal. What is your response to that? As many parts of the world return to the office, or strike a hybrid arrangement, we believe a great set of practical heels is a must-have. In addition, many women are dying to slip out of sweats and get dressed

again. For those who aren’t, we have the cutest sneakers or slip-on sandals, too.

Where do you envision Vivaia in three years? As an eco-friendly lifestyle brand.

Vivaia is full of dreamers who can’t wait to use what has worked so well with our footwear in any number of products. Stay tuned!

What was the best piece of design advice you ever received? Let design serve the essence of demand. Right now, women everywhere are demanding eco-friendly products that still serve their sense of personal style. That’s what we are achieving.

What do you love most about designing shoes? Women’s shoes are like a signature.

Often, they tell the world what kind of woman we are, what we’re doing and, now more than ever, what we care about. While it’s a huge challenge just to develop comfortable and stylish shoes, never mind eco-friendly aspects, I love that we’re accomplishing the impossible every day. It’s an endless pursuit of perfection, and we’re thrilled to be on the journey.

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U P C L O S E C O M F O RT

Rieker Gets Fit

The Euro comfort brand flexes its sneaker-making muscle.

“The collection is where design meets functionality; it’s a beautiful fit.”

IT’S NO SECRET that the pandemic has ushered in a sneaker boom, be it The target customer is broad—just about anyone who wears sneakers, the millions of consumers who’ve discovered/rediscovered the benefits of and these days that is just about everyone. “The target customer is ageless. exercising outdoors as well as the many millions more who’ve had their dress Everyone is part of the ‘Revolution,’” Rask affirms. Indeed, the designs are shoes mothballed in a remote workplace world for well over a year and with not sport-specific, nor are the just stripped-down classic looks. Overall, the little sign that may change any time soon. Sneakers have become the everyday, collection is a modern take on sport lifestyle. That aesthetic, Rask believes, go-to footwear, and Rieker is now meeting the macro lifestyle shift head on will appeal to consumers who are looking for wear versatility. “People want a with the debut of its Revolution collection for men and women, debuting for shoe that suits every part of their day and night activities,” he says. Then there’s Spring/Summer ’22. the simple fact that Rieker is not one of those highly exposed athletic brands, “This collection is in response to our worldwide network of retailers and a few of which are paring down their account lists. “The Revolution customer consumers,” says Rich Rask, president, Rieker Shoe Corporation. “This is is looking to go beyond what is already in the what they’re asking and looking for. We market,” Rask offers. “They’re looking for listen, we’re responsive and we take care of something new and fresh, something beyond our all of our customers.” Rask adds, “The just a restyle or a reshape.” active lifestyle is the new normal. People are As for other ways the Revolution collecspending more time at home, with family tion differs from (many) athletic brands on and friends. Walking, running, riding bikes, the market, Rask notes Rieker’s long track etc. promotes a more causal healthy homerecord. “Our fifth generation ownership based lifestyle, and comfort, function and brings shoemaking tradition, quality and styling are a must, and that’s the DNA of unapparelled manufacturing knowledge,” he our Revolution collection.” says, adding that the collection, unlike most Rieker went the extra mile to ensure athletic brands, will be offered in European that the collection goes beyond just lookwhole sizes. Last but not least, the company ing like sneakers, according to Rask. The is offering long initial margins to sweeten the shoes are built from the ground up, offerincentive for retailers, and the collection will ing genuine athletic comfort and style. In be backed by extensive digital, social media fact, the company created a new, in-house and point-of-sale campaigns. design team to focus solely on combining So far so good, Rask reports. “The initial innovative constructions with high-quality feedback from our retailers has been amazing,” materials. Examples include lightweight he says. “They too are looking for something rubber outsoles, EVA midsoles, stroble PU new and fresh.” He adds the feedback from sole constructions, removable insoles made retail partners will advance the collection in of Memosoft and uppers featuring padded the seasons ahead. “We can’t do it without collars, soft linings and sock-like materials. our retail partners, and we thank them for “With Rieker’s long tradition (147 years) of their continued support,” Rask says. “Here’s shoemaking, Revolution focuses on quality, to the Revolution!” —G.D. Rieker’s new Revolution line is aimed at the sneaker-wearing masses. fit, comfort and functionality,” Rask says.

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8/27/21 1:35 PM

L A S T WO RD

Game On!

DNA T250

by MLO.

Kicks Starter Clayton Kanemitsu, founder of MLO, on how launching a new sneaker brand in the midst of a pandemic has been a blessing wrapped in a trial by fire.

By Greg Dutter LAUNCHING A NEW brand from scratch is never easy.

Launching a new sneaker brand on a shoestring budget and a dream—in a field dominated by T-rex predators amid a still-raging pandemic—has been, to quote MLO founder Clayton Kanemitsu, “Pretty insane!” But that’s exactly what the social media influencer turned designer/entrepreneur has done and, all challenges aside, the brand is off to a “pretty amazing” start.

Here, the former “Claytano,” his moniker that YouTube and Twitch video game fans knew him by, discusses MLO’s brand recipe that’s rooted in style, comfort and affordability with key ingredients of sustainability, philanthropy and community. The Japanese-American designer and his team have burst onto the market with a blind ambition that is proving beneficial in an intimidating landscape. Sometimes it’s really just better to not know any better.

Just why did you decide to launch a sneaker brand in March 2020? First off, my goal with MLO is to create designs that inspire people. High-fashion products are typically too overpriced for everyone to afford, which leaves a ton of people, including myself at one point, uninterested in fashion. MLO (SRP $68 to $198) solves that issue by making looking good and feeling incredible about yourself accessible and inclusive.

Still, the pandemic added hurdles, no? It’s been pretty insane! The biggest issue has been shipping and logistics. Our products were taking months to get to customers. Definitely not the best first impression as people were taking a chance on a new brand. Worse, the issue was almost completely out of our control. Still, we implemented a shipping guarantee stating customers would receive orders within a certain timeframe or their money back. While we’ve refunded a massive amount of orders, which almost broke us, if we didn’t do that we would have lost a lot of faith from our customers. We wouldn’t be the brand we are today without it.

Any ways the pandemic might have helped? The pandemic shined a spotlight on the possibilities of shopping online, which was a driving factor for our initial virality. People were forced to stay home, so they ended up shopping online for anything and everything. For those who never did that, many realized that it’s not so bad, which also made them more likely to take a chance on a new brand. Most of all, the pandemic gave us purpose.

Many of our initial employees were hired after being laid-off from jobs due to shut downs. We also gave a portion of our profit to the CDC Response Fund to provide life-saving equipment to healthcare workers on the front lines. We even implemented a company game night where everyone jumps

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on Discord to play video games and have fun. Having some light-hearted human interaction, especially early on when there wasn’t much of that, went a long way for us.

How’s business? Amazing! It’s crazy to think about how fast it has all happened and how quickly we grew. My initial expectations were quite low in comparison to our results. I’m humbled every day by the amount of people who support us, but still have so much more we want to do to be the shoes that move the world.

What makes MLO shoes different from other brands? MLO shoes are the lightest, most comfortable shoes you’ll ever wear. It feels like you’re walking on clouds, no matter what style you slip on. Comfort and fashion are two things you don’t get together very often, but with MLO you get comfort, fashion and affordability.

How might your non-sneaker designer background be an advantage?

Because I’m our customer. It allows me to have an unbiased opinion of the designs and colorways by putting myself in my customers shoes, no pun intended. Our customers aren’t sneaker designers either, but they still know what they like.

How might MLO’s collective approach to design be an advantage? It’s a huge advantage in so many ways that it’s surprising other companies don’t do this. Everyone is encouraged to bring ideas to the table, which immediately makes our employees feel connected with the company.

Think of how motivating and inspiring it is for employees to know that they could design the next shoe, regardless of their title. Why should I be the one to say someone else, without a sneaker design background, can’t design a sick sneaker?

Why is philanthropy important for MLO? People want to be a part of something bigger. By supporting a brand that aligns with your values, you feel more connected with the brand, the shoes on your feet and others who wear them. You feel like you’re making a difference in the world, and it gives you a sense of pride as you walk down the street. It’s one thing to sell cool shoes, it’s another to have a purpose.

Sustainability in another key ingredient. In what ways is MLO ecofriendly? All MLO shoes are shipped in eco-friendly, reusable draw-string gym bags that are not only good for the environment, but good for your wallet! Shoe boxes are expensive and cost a lot for shipping. This means our customers are paying 20 to 30 percent less just by us cutting out the box!

How might being a small startup in a market dominated by conglomerates be an advantage? The main advantage is transparency. We want our customers to know who they’re buying from. I couldn’t tell you who the CEOs of the huge conglomerates are, or what they look like, so it’s impossible for me to build a relationship with them. I want to have a relationship with my customers. Another advantage is our ability to pivot at a moment’s notice, if need be.

Where do you envision MLO in five years? As a world-wide brand with a die-hard following. So far, we’ve been crushing every goal, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. In the meantime, my passion has always been to create and inspire others. MLO gives me the opportunity to do both on a large scale, and to move the world!

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continued from page 8 shoes.” Overall, Harrell reports a “better than normal” show. “I opened several new accounts and buyers detailed 50 percent more than normal,” he says, noting he booked twice as many firm appointments than usual, including Von Maur, who usually work the FFANY show.

“It was a fantastic show—five stars!”

Renee Newman, vice president of footwear sales for Aetrex, gives similar high marks. “Our booth was very busy throughout Hotlanta: Aetrex’s Carly knit the show—when customers sneaker was a TASM hit. were ready to leave, others were waiting to come in,” she reports.

Newman says popular styles included the Sydney floral and Lexa ivory wedges, adjustable leather strap sandals like the Daisy or Jillian, and its water-friendly sport sandal collection featuring new glossy and shimmery colors as seen in the Maui and Janey styles. “Athleisure continues to be a hot trend as well,” she adds. “We introduced new colors of our popular Carly sneaker, and the pink multi-colorway was a hit.”

Sneakers were also hot on the menu at Rieker, reports Rich Rask, president. Notably the debut of its functional Revolution collection.

(See p. 37 for more details.) “Lifestyle athletic is right on trend with our Revolution launch,” he says. “Also, we had a strong response to our sandals and slides.” Overall, Rask gives high marks to the show. “It was definitely a success on several fronts,” he notes. “Getting to work with our retail partners in-person was priceless. In addition, getting our sales team together to work through the collections and just hang out was a blessing.”

Larry Paparo, CEO of Floafers, couldn’t agree more on the show’s camaraderie factor. “Just to be back in the footwear community, hanging out with old friends at the hotel bar, was extremely satisfying—the best networking of the week,” he says. “The retailers, brands and reps who stayed home will certainly be at a great disadvantage.” Paparo notes that while traffic was understandably down compared to normal, the caliber made up for that. “The quality of the buyers we saw was higher than normal, and they were enthusiastic for Floafers,” he says, citing the launch of its Crayola kids’ scented collection as a hit. “Retailers were dropping paper on the spot, as well as reordering for us to deliver ASAP.” Frank Cammarata, CEO of the Enjoiya Group, agrees that there was plenty of business to be had in Atlanta. He reports traffic was strong throughout, and while many retailers were strategic in their buys, the overall Better days ahead? Ron White reported a outlook was positive. “Retailers strong response to its dress styles. are expecting a productive fall and hoping to see sizable increases for Spring ’22,” he says. Cammarata expects casual comfort in basics and bright colors to lead the way. “Enjoiya’s active casuals and sport sandal collections were well-received, and midcovered wedges and mini-lug series with memory foam cushioning in Soft Comfort remain popular,” he says. “And buyers were drawn to Secret Celebrity’s Honeycomb series, a collection of embellished flat sandals in fashion-forward colors.” —Greg Dutter

8/28/21 9:11 AM

THIS JUST IN

summer in the city A mosaic of New Yorkers sport an equally eclectic sense of street style.

Photography by Melodie Jeng

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