Footwear Insight

footwearinsight.com December 2020 ~ Footwear Insight • 29 products as it adopted a more cautious approach to seasonal buys going forward, largely due to an overhang of 2020 styles for 2021. Felger fondly remembers one consumer interaction during this crazy year. "One gentleman was desperate for some new shoes," she recalls. "After we advised of the store closure and that only essential businesses could be open, he remarked, 'You're essential to me, my feet hurt!' I couldn't argue with that, so we ended up meeting him at the store and got him what he needed. Helping people is always a good feeling." —BM Montano's Shoes The third- and fourth-generation- owned Montano's Shoes in upstate Saugerties, NY, is facing many of the same challenges as other independent retailers across the country. Montano's successful strategies in 2020 have included remaining open full-time, spacing out its customers in-store, offering curbside pick-up and shipping to customers. "The biggest customer service challenge we have faced this year is how to allow customers to visit us in-store and for us to provide the same experience for the customer that he or she is accustomed to receiving," says president Ed Montano, a pedorthist. The retailer, which has been offering footwear and pedorthic care to its community since 1906, intends to be more cautious buying in 2021, focusing keenly on the categories that are currently performing well. That should include more focus on outdoors and athletics and less on underperforming categories such as dress shoes. — BM Ted's Shoe & Sport Located on Main Street in the college town of Keene, NH, Ted's Shoe & Sport is described by owner Ted McGreer as "a run specialty store with a medical twist." In addition to its running customers, the shop, which works closely with podiatrists and local doctors, sees "lots of customers with challenging feet." When Ted's was forced to temporarily close in March due to COVID stay-at-home orders, McGreer collected letters from doctors he works with to ensure he could get approval to open as an essential business. Once the store got approval to open, customers were not allowed inside at first, so McGreer and his staff implemented curbside service and online fulfillment offerings as well as local deliveries. The retailer also developed a virtual fitting system that involved not only video conferencing, but also taking images of customers' feet and matching them with shoes that would be a good fit. "We would do a 30 minute consultation," says McGreer. Using the virtual fit system, which the store promoted online, McGreer and his staff sold 500 pairs of shoes in two months, none of which were returned. "During the time that we were selling virtually, business dropped 50 percent in March, April and May," he says. "But it didn't drop 80 or 90 percent. We were able to be creative and do things contactless." Now that his store is open to customers, McGreer says it is challenging not being able to consult with people to the degree his staff is used to. "Another challenge is people who feel their freedom has been stripped by the mask mandate," he laments. "It sometimes rises to a challenge for some people when we tell them they need a mask to be in the store. That has not been easy. Some people have been a little grumpy." Since reopening, McGreer has reduced the hours that the store is open and is now closed on Sundays, a change he intends to stick with. "It has been a relief to wake up on Sunday morning and not feel retail fatigued," he says. "Our customers have learned the new hours and they just come in when we are open." Running and athletic footwear sales have been strong at Ted's and have met or exceeded last year's sales over the last few months. "We are seeing new running customers come in and our existing customers are buying more frequently because many of them are running more than they were before," says McGreer. The shop owner says he is proud of his staff and their ability to pivot and innovate during tough times. "Looking ahead, I am cautiously optimistic," he says. "With product, we are focused on being narrower and deeper. We'll be careful about "One gentleman was desperate for some new shoes. After we advised of the store closure and that only essential businesses could be open, he remarked, 'You're essential to me, my feet hurt!' I couldn't argue with that, so we ended up meeting him at the store and got him what he needed. Brenda Felger, Felger's Footwear "The biggest customer service chal- lenge we have faced this year is how to allow custom- ers to visit us in-store and for us to pro- vide the same experience for the customer that he or she is accustomed to receiving," Ed Montano Montano's Rebecca Felger Romano, Brenda Felger, Felger's Footwear Montano's Shoes Ted's Shoe & Sport

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