Footwear Insight

footwearinsight.com July/August 2019 ~ Footwear Insight • 67 ENESLOW AT 110 Legendary New York City retail shoe and pedorthic/orthotic center is looking ahead. By Nancy A. Ruhling E neslow, New York's iconic retail shoe and pedorthic/orthotic center, is celebrating its 110th birthday in a grand way: It's opening another retail store. The new store, at 1319 Third Ave. in Manhattan, is the fourth in the family-run busi- ness enterprise. "We're hopeful this location is a sweet spot," says Robert S. Schwartz, the president and CEO of Eneslow Pedorthic Enterprises, which runs the company. "The neighborhood, in this, a walking city, fits our demographic like a custom shoe. Our customers are professionals and baby boomers; 80 percent are women." The two-floor, 4,200-square-foot store offers the same selection of men's and women's comfort footwear and foot-care products as the company's other stores. "The stock is curated by Eneslow from factories all over the world, with a heavy emphasis on Euro brands," Schwartz says. "Custom orthotics, footwear and repair services also are offered in each store." Eneslow's 16,000-square-foot, three-level Park Avenue flagship store includes a 1,000-square-foot custom workshop where shoes and orthotics are made to order, modified and repaired. It houses the Eneslow Pedorthic Institute, a pedorthic education and training center. Eneslow's pedorthists are trained at the institute and credentialed by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics. The new Third Avenue store is twice as big as its Second Avenue sibling, which was opened on Eneslow's 100th anniversary in 2009. "Adding a store with double the space will allow us to grow the business," Schwartz says. "We'll be able to add more fashionable styles that appeal to the Third Avenue shopper. The Third Avenue shopper does not shop on Second Avenue." Eneslow's bold move comes at a time when some 50 percent of shoe purchases in the country are being made online, and brick-and-mortar stores are shuttering their doors at an alarming rate. "It's a strategic decision," Schwartz says. "With limited time left on my two other Manhattan leases, this store is a hedge against the possibility that those leases will not be renewed." Schwartz knows well what it is like to lose stores. In the mid-1980s, he had transformed Eneslow into a regional chain with eight stores, but was forced to close all but the flagship when New York State slashed Medicaid reimbursements for medical shoes and orthotics. "The reimbursements were 50 percent of our busi- ness," he says. He didn't open another store until 2003, and it was in Little Neck, Queens, not in Manhattan. Schwartz says that what sets Eneslow apart — and what keeps it alive — is its people and their commit- ment to the company mantra of "comfort is always in fashion at Eneslow." "We will not compromise that," he says. "The other difference is their training. Skilled pedorthic profes- sionals offer real solutions to help people live pain-free lives. Our ability to accomplish this is through the use of our pedorthic specialization. We can make any shoe more comfortable. We will only sell a shoe that is designed to provide that benefit." He adds that Eneslow is the "go-to" source for footwear for any foot problem. "We frequently gets customer referrals from other New York City shoe retailers and especially health-care professionals," he says. "Eneslow trains them through continuing-education classes at the Eneslow Pedorthic Institute. We handle the worst cases. These cases require time to solve. The shoe industry traditionally is moderately low margin, and if we were just selling shoes, we would not be around now." He points out that 70 percent to 80 percent of the company's shoe sales include an already built-in functioning orthotic device. "We add on these value-added internal and external modifications and adjustments," he says. "Approximately 15 percent of our revenue comes from footwear customization." Eneslow has managed to survive for more than a century because it has evolved with the times. "We pride ourselves on customer service," Schwartz says. "But with the advent of things like Yelp reviews, the high level of service that we offered even five years ago is not enough to keep us in business. If someone writes a critical review, we use it as an opportunity to keep improving." More than 10 years ago, when the economy took a nose-dive and New York City was hard hit by the shut- tering of Lehmann Brothers and the real estate bust, Eneslow started searching for higher- margin products to counteract the reduction in traffic and transactions. Eneslow's solution was to stock a variety of European brands, including Solidus, Christian Dietz, Hassia, Berkemann and Hartjes, that were not distributed in the United States. RETAIL THE ENESLOW DNA Eneslow, which is pronounced N-S-LOW, was founded in 1909 by Edward and Nellie Stone Low. The name is her initials, N. S., plus their last name, Low. The company's iconic logo and core to its mission is based on the four perfectly proportioned bare feet of Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, an ink- on-paper drawing that dates to 1490. The drawing includes text notes based on the work of the architect Vitruvius. Together, they often are referred to as the Canon of Proportions or the Proportions of Man. The originals are in Italy. Eneslow aims to be more than just a commercial enterprise. It has as its mission "to improve the qual- ity of people's lives." Eneslow provides free shoes for the needy. It has sent more than 100,000 pairs of shoes to organizations, includ- ing the international charitable footwear foundation Soles4Souls, the Council of Concerned Medical Professionals, Tender Care Human Services and the International Rescue Committee Eneslow makes house calls for those who cannot get to the stores. It's from $0 to $250 per visit. Consumers who have questions about their feet can ask Eneslow at eneslow.com/ ask-eneslow.html.

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