Footwear Insight

September / October 2018

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CHANDLER'S WALK SHOPPE SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH / YEAR FOUNDED: 2000 WALKING COMFORT CENTERVILLE, UTAH / YEAR FOUNDED: 2010 TOPS FOR SHOES ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA / YEAR FOUNDED: 1952 MODERN SHOE PROVO, UTAH / YEAR FOUNDED: 1940 Owner: Skip Chandler "I'm a certified pedorthist and a physical therapist and I've made orthotics for 32 years, so when we started the store I was very familiar with the need. We're very hands-on, very customer satis- faction driven. Everyone tries on the new shoes to get a sense for how they're fitting, whether they're fitting shallow or full, long or short. We have an investment in staff: We can't lose that knowledge. Obviously we're not perfect, but we try to turn those times we aren't perfect into learning experiences." Founder and President: Bryce Anderson "We're a little bit different than other independents, a lot of whom who have been inherited from family or have been doing it for 50 years. I had worked for a number of years in the tech industry for Intel. We wanted to open a store with the best brands, to have the best selection and, most importantly, the best experience. We want it to be like the Disneyland of shoes. We're trying to grow in all aspects — not just our store and not online, we want to grow our stores and online and even the products we're making ourselves." Owner: Alex Carr "Customer service is our highest priority. We take it very seriously; we've been doing it from the beginning — I'm the third generation — and I'm just carrying it on. We want to create an experience and guide you through the experience. A lot of the people who work here have been doing this for 20 or 30 years, and it's become second nature to them, and that makes it part of the company culture. The younger staff learn from watching the vets. I work the floor myself and try to set a good example. You don't want to be too far removed from the fitting stool in this business." Owner: Tony Thomas "Modern Shoe was founded in 1940 as a repair shop. I started in 1974. I worked here through junior high, high school and college. I was bored in the corporate world as a programmer, so in 1989 I bought the business. We go way beyond — we're experts in what we do. I'm a certified pedorthist, we have other certified pedor- thists as well, and our customers get a lot of service here they can't get elsewhere. We're better than the average store because that's our heritage." Photos by JayLynn Studios, Salt Lake City, Utah; The 4th Dimension Studio, Asheville, NC. Stores scoring a perfect 100 (or above) were named the 2018 Waldy Award winners, presented by Waldläufer. footwearinsight.com September/October 2018 ~ Footwear Insight • 27 SCORE: 102 SCORE: 100 SCORE: 100 SCORE: 101

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