Footwear Insight

footwearinsight.com July/August 2021 ~ Footwear Insight • 13 and I check the brand site and see they are sold out, I may still know that somewhere in the country there is a store that has that item in their backroom and they haven't been able to move it. So we have built a network of retailers, giving them live visibility to an entire network. Now one retailer can see what another retailer on the network has in stock and see what the brand has in stock. This can help in fulfilling an order, but it can also help manage buying patterns." In addition to getting product that is currently out of stock and moving over-inventoried product, a key to the program is that retailers can use the technology to assist customers in finding what they want — even if the store doesn't have it and the brand doesn't have it. And it benefits brands, too — they can see up to the minute, live, exactly what products they have in the market and where. "It's an opportunity to keep small business relevant," Keleher says. "When a customer goes into a small business and finds that even if a product is not in the store the store can still get it for them within a day or two — if they know they can depend on the local shop, then it keeps money in the community." For Keleher, Fitted's vision and commitment to retail comes naturally — he's a retailer himself, having opened A Runner's Mind 11 years ago in the Bay Area of California — the run specialty shop now has three locations. Even 10 years ago, Keleher says, he was thinking of ways to make it easier for small, brick-and-mortar businesses to go digital. The challenges of not only running an ecommerce business, but also keeping a website current with images, inventory, et cetera, can be overwhelming and can take away from a shop's in-store business at the same time. "I wanted to find a solution for my store, but I realized it was a larger problem not just for my store and not just for run specialty, but also for comfort footwear and athletic footwear — really it's a challenge for any small business," explains Keleher. Now, he says, "our job at Fitted is to make sure retailers stay vital to brands and still continue to create connections in the community." n For more info, visit fittedretail.com B rendan Hoffman, president and a director of Wolverine Worldwide, will become CEO of the Rockford, MI company at the end of 2021. He will succeed Blake Krueger, WWW's CEO since 2007 and Chairman since 2009. Krueger, 67, is set to move into a newly created position as Executive Chairman. Before joining Wolverine last September, Hoffman, 52, was CEO of publicly traded Vince Holding Corp., a global contemporary fashion brand. His prior roles include CEO and President roles at The Bon-Ton Stores, Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus Direct. Over the last nine months, Krueger and Hoffman have worked together to leverage the global reach of Wolverine's extensive brand portfolio, navigate impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and position the company for post-pandemic growth. One near-term objective is to get WWW's annual ecommerce revenues to $500 million, doubling the 2019 level. n "When a customer goes into a small business and finds that even if a prod- uct is not in the store, the store can still get it for them within a day or two — if they know they can depend on the local shop, then it keeps money in the community." Wolverine Worldwide Sets Succession Plan SOCKS WITH ® 844-413-5457 OS1st.com No Show Double Tab 1/4 Crew Over-the-calf Crew PLANTAR FASCIITIS PERFORMANCE SOCKS The FS4™ Plantar Fasciitis sock is your #1 tool for injury prevention and pain relief on the job. The FS4™ puts OS1st's Compression Zone Technology® to work with precise, targeted compression levels that lift the Plantar Fascia, cushion the heel, and keep you moving through the day. #1 Tool For Comfort July/Aug 2021 Half Page Vert_Footwear_PRINT VERSION.indd 1 7/15/21 4:30 PM

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