US retailers go shoe-mad
16/08/2012
Examples include the launch of what is claimed to be the largest women’s shoe department in the world at Macy’s flagship store in New York, a new floor dedicated entirely to women’s shoes at Barneys New York and the roll-out to more branches of a concept called 10022-SHOE that Saks recently introduced to great acclaim.
Retailers are rediscovering a love of shoes, Bloomberg said, because sales per square-metre and margins are better than those for other categories. It quoted market research firm NPD Group as saying that sales in the US of fashion footwear for women now have an annual value of $21.9 billion. In 2006, men’s and women’s shoes combined to give Saks 8.5% of its total sales, Bloomberg said. In 2011, women’s shoes alone contributed 12% of the group’s overall sales revenue.
In-store innovations aimed at enhancing sales further include a new champagne and chocolate bar in the shoe department at Macy’s store in Herald Square, New York, and special cameras at Saks that will project images onto screens of what different styles look like on customers’ feet.
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