Shoe Brands Highlight Newness and Versatility to Win Over Inflation-Stricken Consumers at FFANY and FSNYE Trade Shows
It’s been an overall challenging year for the footwear industry, but shoe brands were optimistic this week during FFANY market week and Footwear Show New York Expo (FSNYE) as they showed their fall and winter ’24 collections.
“It feels like old times,” said Matt Priest, president and CEO of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), which hosts the seasonal FFANY trade show. “It almost feels like December ’19. Everyone’s here, everyone’s jammed with appointments, all the buyers are here and it’s kind of a return to normal.”
Additionally, the industry is coming off of a strong Thanksgiving week, which bodes well for the outlook for the rest of the holiday season.
“Even though there’s economic headwinds impacting our consumers, particularly at working family levels, there is optimism, particularly for the back half of ’24,” Priest said. “And this is the product that’s going to be sold then, that people are looking at right now.”
Over at the FSNYE show at the Park Lane hotel, president Phyllis Rein noted that feedback from buyers was “extremely positive and optimistic,” as worry about inflation seem to tamper down. “Retailers were delighted, to be back in-person in NYC and to see, touch and feel the new collections first-hand,” Rein said. “Inflation is still a concern however it is slowing down. Customers are still purchasing footwear, and thanks to factors like TikTok and other social media platforms brand awareness has increased tremendously.”
Here were three key themes that were on the minds of footwear brands at the trade show this week.
A desire for newness
After a period of supply chain backlogs and then subsequent inventory excesses, brands showing their wares in New York this week reported that their retail clients are eager for new and fresh styles.
“We’re finding there’s a real upbeat [feeling] around new fresh things,” said Jeremy Bank, founder and president of New Zealand-based sustainable shoe brand YY Nation. “There’s still a ways to go in terms of the market, which is still quite tough, but there’s excitement around some new things. So that’s what we’re finding with some of our line. The new materials are really capturing.”
Milwaukee-based Muk Luks, which makes slippers and cabin socks, has only begun to emphasize its footwear business in the last three years but has felt a positive reception from buyers looking for new products.
“We have found more of a willingness to look at a new brand,” said Muk Luks VP of footwear sales Jeffrey Jones. “Open-to-buys are opening up and it’s obvious from the way people are talking with us.”
Falc USA CEO Salina Ferretti agreed that many buyers are searching for newness in their assortments. Falc USA, which is the North American subsidiary of the nearly 50-year-old Italian company Falc SpA, unveiled its first permanent multibrand showroom 1370 Sixth Avenue in New York this week after seeing steady momentum over the past few years. Retailers can find fresh styles from brands like Flower Mountain, Voile Blanche, Candice Cooper, W6YZ (pronounced “Wizz”), Naturino and Falcotto. “Many buyers have come here and bought at least two or three of our brands, which is exciting for us,” Ferretti said. “This points to the fact that consumers want something new.”
Natasha Norie Standard echoed the sentiment. Standard, the founder of Norie Shoes, noted that the buyers she’s encountered at the FSNYE show love her best-selling flat styles that fit perfectly into the ballet flat trend happening right now in women’s shoes.
Adapting to inflation
Brands also noted how the current inflationary environment has impacted the way consumers spend on apparel and footwear.
“She’s much more purposeful about where she’s going to spend her money on fashion, because she wants that money to have a different kind of experience,” said Jodie Johnson, EVP of Baretraps. “So that’s our challenge: How do we get her back engaged with needing the new outfit?”
Baretraps, produced by Footwear Unlimited, has taken an innovative marketing approach to engage the inflation-stricken consumer by showing its products in the context of a curated sample closet, illustrating how one pair of shoes might fit in with several outfits.
“We took ourselves outside of just thinking about footwear and footwear trends and said, ‘How do we really help our consumer from an apparel perspective?’” Johnson said.
Looking ahead into next year, Florsheim president Kevin Schiff said some retailers are concerned what 2024 has in store for the economy, pointing toward the presidential election and ongoing Trump trials. “But we are seeing a strong turnout this season. We have been very busy writing orders this week,” Schiff said. “Stores are doing better this year than they had originally projected. And I hope that 2024 is a truly ‘normal’ year in terms of business, as interest rates stabilize and prices come down.”
Warmer weather impact
As some retailers continue to point to the changing weather patterns for lagging sales, many cold weather-focused brands are feeling the heat.
Florsheim’s Schiff candidly noted that boots have been very slow to sell this season given the relatively mild fall the U.S. has experienced. “What is doing well, though, are our white-soled hybrid dress shoes that casualize the more formal men’s style,” Schiff noted. “The comfort bottoms are also seen in our Chelsea boots and other models.”
At Cougar, account manager Bernie Richfield said that the shifting weather patterns are the No. 1 thing affecting retailers right now. “I am encouraging buyers to bring in our boots later than they typically would,” Richfield said. “Why bring in a snow boot in September? It just isn’t cold enough outside, and once it does get cold, the shoe is considered old. So I’m suggesting to retailers to not take delivery of our more substantial winter styles until November.”
At Spyder, which specializes in premium ski product, it hasn’t seen as big of an impact from the warmer fall.
“I think the good news is we’re a little bit of a later-season brand,” said Spyder national sales manager Dave Miller. “We’ve seen some really good upticks in sales in the last few weeks. And we’re very fourth-quarter driven.”