The Shoe Market in North America Is Booming
Architect David Schwing, CEO of San Francisco-based store design firm BAR Architects, is responsible for the design of several DSW stores, including the new Union Square store in New York. Light plays an important role in DSW’s self-service concept, says Schwing. The light in shoe shops must reflect the material and the colors very well so that the customer feels comfortable, correctly recognizes the products and the colors, and can correctly read the product information, especially the size information.
Now Reebok in Manhattan
Reebok has now come to Manhattan with its first Reebok Fitness Hub, a 2,500-square-foot concept store on Fifth Avenue located above a 9,500-square-foot Reebok gym dubbed the Cross Fit Box. The basic lighting is provided by light rails suspended from the dark ceiling. But the eye-catcher of the store is a row of three pendant lights with large metal shades. These draw the customer’s attention to a wood-framed display wall on which the sports shoes are presented. There are other Reebok Fitness Hubs” in Russia, Dubai, Korea, and Great Britain. David Dalziel, creative director of London store design agency Dalziel & Pow, has created shoe stores and shoe departments for clients around the world. The shoe fashion market has changed dramatically in recent years, says Dalziel. Shoe shops and the shoe departments of large department stores have become real attractions.” “Specialists like Timberland or Frye focus on their tradition and their brand aura, says Dalziel. Suppliers who used to only sell shoes are offering extensive ranges of bags, other accessories, or clothing to keep up with the competition. It’s a challenge to create a very special store environment when you have a range of shoes to present that’s pretty much the same everywhere. When we design a new store, the first thing we think about is what can be recycled, what can be eliminated or what can be minimized. That’s what Sean McCorry, store design manager at Timberland in London says.
But back to the USA. The market for conservative men’s shoes has also received a boost there. Revenue was $10.492 billion in 2010, an increase of 6.9 percent. Joshua Schulman, president of New York luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman, says men’s footwear and menswear is the fastest growing segment of the luxury goods market. Men shop differently today, says Schulman. Today, they value a wardrobe for both work and leisure. In new concepts such as the Neiman Marcus department store in Walnut Creek, California, the shoe department has an open salon character with lots of daylight. The Neiman Marcus customer is interested in every trend and jumps at it when they see a pair of shoes they don’t already have, says Ken Downing, Fashion Director and Senior Vice President of Neiman Marcus. Our customers are observing the trend in print magazines and online. They want to know what shapes and colors are trending.
John David Shoes Canada
David’s is a shoe store in Toronto, Canada. The design by the store designer Burdifilek creates a neutral, elegant background for the shoe collections. Materials and textures add subtle touches, including Macassar wood, limestone, glass, suede, polished steel, and mirrors, to further enhance the visual presentation of the shoes. A much more eye-catching approach was chosen at the Solara shoe store in the Carrefour Richelieu shopping center in Québec, Canada. The designers from Ruscio Studio gave the 130-square meter shop an unmistakable identity with a very special ceiling design: they hung a total of 6,500 women’s shoes painted white from the ceiling.
The fashion brand Proenza Schouler opened its first brand store in New York in a sophisticated design by architect David Adjaye with lighting by Paul Gregory. The shoes are displayed on individual small shelves on walls made of dark longitudinal beams. Garments hang next to it so that customers can choose entire outfits. Even shoe outlets are now being styled. Apparel and accessories maker Vince Camuto commissioned New York architect Sergio Mannino to create retail environments for its outlet stores in Riverhead, New York, and Wrentham, Massachusetts that incorporate elements of Camuto’s luxury stores. Mannino designed a concept with muted pink back panels and an elliptical chrome lampshade, from which innumerable strings of crystal-clear pearls hang. The shelves are modular and have different heights. Attached to the walls are open white showcases, each displaying a shoe and matching handbag.
