Thoughts on the Shoe Business

Nobody's asked for my opinion, but I thought I'd share a couple thoughts on the high-end ready to wear shoe business.

As the world's become a smaller place, the remaining ready to wear shoemakers have seen their home turfs invaded by by makers from other parts of the world. England's Edward Green does the largest share of its business in Japan. France's Pierre Corthay is in New York's Bergdorf Goodman, and Hungary's Vass is out, at least for the time being.

The challenge each of these makers faces is that there aren't enough competent retailers to go around, and the ones that exist already have lines. A new stockist that can deliver volume comes around perhaps once every five years, so expansion becomes a zero sum game. For Gaziano Girling or W. S. Foster to get shelf space, another maker loses some of his. Yet none of these companies, or the dozen others that I haven't mentioned, has attempted an end run yet.

Foster Ready to Wear in London

What's an end run, you ask? Ecommerce. Expensive even five years ago, today it takes a lot less investment than opening dedicated retail stores a la John Lobb Paris. I can think of a few things that would make my customer experience much better than it is today.

First, invest in a set of fitting shoes for each major market. They should encompass every last, and every size in the product line, and if that's too expensive cut back the breadth of the line. A maker can't sell shoes until the customer knows what size he needs.

Pierre Corthay Ready To Wear in Paris

Once the fitting shoes are available, work out a method for dispatching a pair or two, secured by a credit card, when a new customer inquires. It's a process that works quite well for bespoke hats. In addition, or at the very least, begin trunk shoes in major cities and promote them so prospective customers can get fit and place their first order. Once they've bought the first time, personal interaction becomes less important.

Second, set up a web site that includes a visual of every model on every last, in every leather, and with every sole. Describe the differences between choices like Dainite and Ridgeway soles, for example, because there won't be a helpful sales professional available to your customers when they order. Take orders on the site. And go out of your way to over-communicate order status by email. Acknowledge the order, provide an expected delivery day, and then provide periodic updates during the months it takes to make the shoes. Once the software is working, email is free anyway.

Then put bar code scanners and digital cameras at a couple major stations on the production line so you can take work in process photos and send them to a database. Give each customer a login on the web site where they can see their shoes as they are being made, and keep a record, of course, of the shoes in each customer's inventory. The first company to do this will have customers posting pictures and praise on every clothing forum in cyberspace.

Since customers are freely providing their contact information, a maker going down this road has a free method to proactively communicate trunk show dates, new models, and other useful information that leads to ongoing relationships and repeat orders.

I submit that the first maker to adopt a system similar to this one will sell a lot more shoes because they'll be making life easier on me, and shoe loving customers around the world.

Would You Like Shoes With That?

This photo was taken unexpectedly by our friend Constance at an early dinner with her husband Gaël and her children last week in San Francisco.

Constance is the men's shoe buyer for Sarenza, a French language shoe shopping web site that offers selected models by a variety of makers including some, like Pierre Corthay and Santoni, that are difficult to find online. There is currently a sale with models such as Corthay's Arca discounted from 850,00 € ($1,170) to 595,00 € ($819) including VAT. If, as they should, the site deducts VAT for U. S. buyers the Corthays would be very well priced at roughly $656.

Which is Bespoke?

One of the shoes above is a bespoke Corthay and the other is RTW from the same maker. Which is which? The point of the photo is that the differences between quality RTW and bespoke shoes are subtle unless you're so close that you probably are wearing the shoes. And then, of course, you'd already know the answer.

Corthay probably competes principally with Aubercy for Parisian customers who seek quality. Both make high quality and sometimes attention-getting shoes. Aubercy is a larger company but, to me, Corthay has more soul. His bespoke business is just three pair each week. The bespoke shoes are made in a small workroom next to the showroom.

Pierre Corthay created his signature shape in 1992, and began venturing into adventurous colors at the request of his bespoke customers. Despite all the attention that the colored shoes receive, 90% of his sales remain black and brown.

Oh yes, the brown shoes in the top photo are the bespoke pair.

Au Revoir

Sadly, today was my last day in Paris as I must cut my trip short. Fortunately, the sun was shining after several days of gray, and, after missing several of the people I had planned to see last week, I was able to conduct in-depth interviews with Lorenzo Cifonelli of the great Cifonelli tailoring house as well as Pierre Corthay the bespoke shoemaker. Watch for essays in the coming weeks.

I also visited Berluti, perhaps the iconic Paris shoemaker, but there was little worthwhile to report. The ready to wear shoes have neither construction nor styling to warrant the prices, in my opinion. Instead, let me refer you to Bergdorg Goodman in New York where Corthay's ready to wear line went on sale today.

Corthay's shoes, pictured above, are as Parisian as Berluti but the construction, after Corthay's three years of hard work setting up a plant in Paris, seems as good to me as Gaziano & Girling's MTO shoes. And that's high praise. If you like Corthay's shape, it's as good a machine-made shoe as you're likely to find. I'll be interested to see what Bergdorf asks for a pair.