Footwear Insight

"Aer 66 years of being in historic Riverside, FL, near downtown Jacksonville, we moved to a much larger facility with a private parking lot to serve our customers better. We surveyed our customers about this for years and the collective response was that they wanted better parking!" — Erika Boger, Boger's Shoes "2023 was a year of experimenting with several different ideas and plans, some of which hit and others that did not. I would have to say for the most part my main goal for last year was to add a few new brands to freshen up the mix and to cut back on ones that slowed way down. I focused on trimming down excess and getting the store dialed in. Overall, 2023 was a good year and one of my most successful Decembers!" — Kellee Bussard, The Shoe Box "Last year we started a program with Soles4Souls where we give customers $10 off their purchase if they bring in a pair of gently used shoes to donate. Customers love it and are excited to be able to give their shoes to a great cause and save money with us. It also keeps customers coming back in to see new styles every time they have a donation." — Alicia Murray, Murray's Shoes "We have an intern partnership with the local high school. is year we've had the most, and best, interns. I teach cleaning that translates to setting our team up for success and gives a path to merchandising and display work. Stamping and merchandising bags is an overall favorite of the kids, they get better every year! Organizing stock by brand/ color/size which can translate to any general warehousing. How to read industry labels, which I hope turns these kids into little future 'shoe dogs.' How to operate and input products into Shopify, which is a widely used system within retail and warehousing. Interns that show promise can become 'my shadow,' also known as an apprentice. ey work during one of their class periods which translates to two hours a week for each group of kids. is year we received accreditation for our Pedorthic lab which will enable next year's interns to be part of the orthotic building process. is path will open doors into the medical world where student will be able to become certified shoe fitters and or Pedorthists." — Alex Maltezos, Tenni-Moc's "is past year, we implemented a no-expiration customer loyalty program that proved to be highly successful. e program rewards customers for their repeat business and encourages store loyalty. e loyalty program not only increased customer retention but also attracted new customers seeking the added value and personalized experience we offer." — Brian Mills, Woldruff's Footwear "Over the past eight years, we've partnered with our local service clubs as well as our vendors to provide a new pair of shoes for every 2nd grade student in our region. Each year we help lead a volunteer group of people to go into each school to fit each child with a new pair of shoes, free of charge. To date, we've provided almost 10,000 pairs, and we believe it's efforts like this which make our community proud to support our store." — Ted McGreer, Ted's Shoe & Sport "e owner of our company came up with a new term 'MASH' which stands for Measure And Swing Hard which means when we measure our customers feet we're observing multiple factors to help us bring out a stack of options outside of what they specifically asked for based off of what we feel they will find most comfortable. We're never in the business of pushing products on our customers; we are merely vessels to introduce products that might make our customers feel better doing the things they do! As we say at Pegasus Footwear, we're in the business of making people's lives better." — Andrea Allen, Pegasus Footwear "It is very simple — getting back to basics. On a regular basis asking the team what they feel like they need help on, and if there is an issue/subject they need help on, we either have a staff meeting or oentimes I will set up a training session before store hours to go over their individual questions one-on-one." — Chris Bentvelzen, SHOES-n-FEET "Our community-focused philanthropy continues to reach new levels. is year we were able to collectively donate more than 200,00 pairs of socks and 8,000 pairs of shoes in the markets we serve." — Justin Kehrwald, Tradehome Shoes footwearinsight.com January/February 2024 ~ Footwear Insight • 17 LOOKING BACK Is there an initiative or program you put in place this past year that made a positive impact on your business?

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