Footwear Insight

Chandler's Walk Shoppe, Salt Lake City, UT Athletic shoes still dominate our sales, as many people are getting out to walk during this COVID time. Hoka One One has been the leader for us. Not much back to school shopping as yet. Schools are still struggling in their decisions to open, when and how, in person or online, or a mix of the two. We're still functioning at a 50 percent level, hoping for improvements soon. —Skip Chandler, owner Lucky Shoes, Fairlawn, OH Athletic is dominant. Women's sandals and casuals have made a bit of a comeback, but sales are still down, and the business we are doing is very promotional. Eighteen out of our top 20 women's shoes are athletic. Our best seller in women's is the New Balance 840. The Brooks Ghost 12 holds two of the top 10 spots, as does the Hoka Clifton 6. Men's is a similar story, with 12 of the top 20 spots being athletic shoes. The New Balance 990 is our top selling shoe, and New Balance really dominates the top of the charts in men's. We are currently selling masks extremely well, and athletic socks and insoles are strong riders on the coattails of athletic shoes. Luckily, Akron and Canton have not been as greatly affected as some areas. We are in five different markets, and the smaller the market, the better we are doing. The larger cities are not faring as well. The goal is different this year. In years past, turn, margin and volume were more important. This season is all about coming out as clean as possible. We have been very aggressive with any product or category that we will not need this fall and winter. Unfortunately, we really had to revise our fall buy a lot in order to fit what is going on today. We had to cut out a lot of dressier, more fashionable offerings, and really focus on function. A reality of northeast Ohio is that it is going to snow, and it is going to be cold. We are hoping for an increase in our weather boot sales when the weather turns. Our spring buys are just about complete. We will be carrying over a lot more merchandise than we would like, so our spring '21 buys reflect that. —John Luck, president WHAT'S WORKING NOW RETAIL 14 • Footwear Insight ~ August 2020 footwearinsight.com Gold Medal Award-Winning Shops Across the U.S. Talk Trends The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a sea change in the retail landscape, altering not only what consumers buy but also when and how they buy it. It's also changed every aspect of how stores run their business, from buying shoes to building community. But stores across the country have risen to the occasion. Here, stores that are past winners of Footwear Insight's Gold Medal Service Award for outstanding customer service share what's working for them, what categories they're banking on and the strategies they're using to plan their future buys. By Jennifer Ernst Beaudry

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