Footwear Insight

them feel better on their feet," Dardano says. "e most critical categories in recent years, would of course be athletic and leisure wear, but we're seeing a resurgence in demand for more traditional dress type products." e first Dardano's store off of Colorado Blvd. in Denver is a space that has been ex- panded a couple times over the past decade, but the family business was eager to expand and design a new store space. e Broomfield location is located in what was formerly a bank (which is where the drive-thru coffee window comes in) with the retail space basically built from scratch. e process began in June 2021 and a new shop opened a little over a year later. e new store is a half-hour drive away from the existing store. One serves the southern portion of Denver and the new store is more on the northern portion of Denver. "It's a new market," says Dardano. "We are excited to expand our footprint and increase our audience." e team did a lot of research, touring other stores locally and nationally to come up with new and engaging concepts that re- mained true to the Dardano's brand identity. e design is intentional, with brand focal points that feature men's and women's styles and a centralized point of sale. Modular setups also allow the staff to move and change the look of the shop as needed. "We are extremely grateful to have been able to finance our new store, through having cashflow from our operations," says Dardano. "We have been able to adapt and expand our footprint over recent years with our e-commerce presence. In a big way, the e-commerce growth helped to provide the resources to give us the opportunity to open another physical location. We enjoy being an online retailer, but we still believe that the key to the better footwear business is the ability to provide an in-person envi- ronment where customers can engage with a staff that has great, knowledge, service and attention to detail. Every pair of shoes and every set of feet is different so having the ability to be properly fitted provides the best end experience for the consumer and the brands." Dardano's Shoes aims to not only support brands that manufacture high quality prod- ucts, but also to carry a good range of each brand's products — to make Dardano's a destination for the brands it carries. "We've got a lot of really great partners that we've worked with over the years and we're excited about this as an opportunity to grow those relationships and to grow their brand accessibility too," says Dardano. Brand partners are impressed. Of the new Broomfield location, Taos COO Bill Langrell told us, "Dardano's beautiful new, spacious yet non-traditional store is a homerun." Langrell notes that at a time "when many retailers are trimming down their assortments, Dardano's is giving the shopper an extraordinary assortment." Beyond the aesthetics, Langrell lauds the store for its high-quality staff. "Dardano's hires experienced people and equips them with the higher standards necessary to qual- ify the needs of each person, giving the customer a great experience," he says. "It is really an exceptional group of people that makes this work." e family nature of the Dardano's business is something that stands out to Dansko sales rep John Moran. "e Dardano family is perhaps one of the kindest, most grounded and tight knit families I have ever known," he says. "e business reflects that. Dardano's treats their customers kindly, with com- passion and honesty and Dardano's stands behind the products they sell. Dardano's has huge amounts of equity built up over the years with their customers. People know it is the destination in Denver for footwear and service. Dardano's does the same things with their vendors. e relationship is built on trust and goodwill given out both ways. ey are a favorite customer of most, if not all brands who do business with them." Dardano's Shoes is not only excited as a family business to be growing its brand, but is also thankful, Dillon Dardano notes. "We are grateful for the opportunity to be able to grow and open this store, and that's a reflection of our customers and a lot of our team members that have helped to build the brand that we are today," he says. "And we are grateful for our brand partners for how they participated to make this happen. Across those three facets, the new store here today is the result of a lot of collaboration and a lot of effort from a lot of different people." n footwearinsight.com January/February 2023 ~ Footwear Insight • 41 Ryan, Brittany, Dillon and David Dardano inside the new Dardano's Shoes store. Far left: the store's unique HOKA concept shop. "We want to be the destination for consumers looking for great shoes, and a destination for our brand partners' biggest selections to be seen."

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