Footwear Insight

Footworks. "They have all stayed with us through out this ordeal. We need each other and we need to be successful so we all can make it through this." While the store's longtime manager, Jim Smith, recently decided to become a part-time rather than full-time employee, Ricket is grateful that Jim had been preparing his daughter Madi to take over for him. "We had the pleasure of promoting Madi to manager last month and she has been awesome," says Ricket. "We could not have made a better choice — and we still have Jim around for difficult cases." Staying committed to customer service and being stringently COVID-safe have been key for the store. "We limit the number of people in the store as well as require face coverings for staff and customers," says Ricket. "We have lost a few customers due to that policy, but the safety of my staff and customers is paramount." The store shut down per state mandate in March, but was able to open back up in late April after Ricket petitioned the state to consider it an essential business due to selling orthotics and orthopedic shoes. "The best experience was having customers stop by and say they were so relieved that we were back open and that our business survived," says Ricket. "The support we have received has been phenomenal." Still, the business challenges are real. Prior to COVID, Ricket says he was seeing steady year-over-year growth, but his business is down 40 percent this year. "The main initiative for 2021 is to get back to 2019 levels," he says. "Unfortunately I think that will be tough given that the retail landscape has changed dramatically with more people shopping online. We will work on having an online shopping presence in 2021 to offset the lack of foot traffic." —CG Turnpike Comfort Footwear Navigating a new normal has defined the past year for Queens, NY-based Turnpike Comfort Footwear, says VP Steven Rueda. Pandemic safety protocols at the store have included creating three curtain-walled cubicles with two chairs in each cubicle — an idea Rueda says he got from fellow independent retailer Rick Ravel of Karavel Shoes in Austin, TX. "We also implemented a cleaning process where we sanitize each cubicle's chairs and fitting stools after each use," says Rueda. "We mandated all customers and staff to use masks and gloves. We implemented "I have the best staff any- one could ask for. They have all stayed with us through out this ordeal. We need each other and we need to be success- ful so we all can make it through this." Tim Ricket, Comfort Footworks Summer 2020 • 1 F O O T W E A R • A C T I V E W E A R • O U T D O O R S • T E A M S P O R T S SEPTEMBER 2020 / SPORTSTYLEMAG.COM INSIGHT + TRENDS FROM ACROSS THE INDUSTRY MOVING FORWARD FORMULA4MEDIA'S SUPPLI ER S S H ARE SHORT-TE R M SOL UT I ON S THAT W I LL LI KELY ST I CK I N 2021 textileinsight.com • @textileinsight TRENDS IN APPAREL + FOOTWEAR DESIGN AND INNOVATION • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 • A FORMULA4 MEDIA PUBLICATION LEARNING CURVES TIME EXPERIENCE TECHNOLOGY A WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER WEIGHS IN SUPPLY CHAIN SMART FACTORIES TAKE SHAPE STRATEGIES SHOW & TELL ON SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS, PERSPECTIVE & ANALYSIS • JUNE 2020 • A FORMULA4 MEDIA PUBLICATION outdoorinsightmag.com 8 Great Ideas to Re-connect, Re-engage & Keep It Local Navigating Today's Reality The Path Forward 20 20 TRENDS, PERSPECTIVE & ANALYSIS • NOVEMBER 2020 ALL ABOUT THE RUN OUTLOOK 2021 • NEW PRODUCTS NEW TECHNOLOGIES • NEW RUNNERS THE RETAIL COMEBACK NEWS & ANALYSIS OF THE TEAM MARKET • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 • A FORMULA4 MEDIA PUBLICATION TEAMINSIGHTMAG.COM BACK ON THE FIELD A LOOK INSIDE THE DECORATING TECHNOLOGY THAT HAS TAKEN THE TEAM BUSINESS BY STORM. SUBLIMATION 7.0 WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT TEAM SPORT IN 2021? Your Niche is Our Niche Published Weekly (on Wednesdays). footwearinsightextra.com Published Monthly. textileinsightextra.com Published 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month. teaminsightextra.com FOOTWEAR INSIGHT EXTRA TEXTILE INSIGHT EXTRA TEAM INSIGHT EXTRA Learn more: formula4media.com / Subscribe: store.formula4media.com DIGITAL NEWSLETTERS MAGAZINES Original content. Market specific. Published 8x each year (2 Sports Editions). footwearinsight.com Published 6x each year (Bi-Monthly). teaminsightmag.com Published 4x each year. outdoorinsightmag.com Published 6x each year (Bi-Monthly). textileinsight.com Published 6x each year (Bi-Monthly). sportstylemag.com footwearinsight.com December 2020 ~ Footwear Insight • 27 Jim and Madi Smith, Comfort Footworks

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