Steve Madden and larger sizes

[shrimper]

I contacted Payless on their website to ask them if they have any plans to start selling larger half sizes (10.5, 11.5). I did this because for me a 10 is too tight and an 11 is too large. I can get by with a 10W in most styles but they are still short on my foot and become uncomfortable after a while. Shoemakers will respond to demands from their customers so it doesn't hurt to ask. It was not that long ago that they added 9.5 to their womens' sizes. Their response was; "Because we are limited physically to the space available in our stores, we try to stock our stores with the most popular and best selling sizes. We do not carry half sizes in women's past a size 10 and men's past size 11." I'm pretty sure I'm not the only 10.5 that looks for shoes there. I guess what I'm trying to say is wherever you shop for shoes if you don't see your size, ask for it. You will be heard. They concluded their response with: "Your comments were forwarded to our buying and merchandising staffs for future consideration. Thank you for shopping at Payless ShoeSource."

[sscotty727]

Interesting. I've bought many shoes from Payless, all women's US size 11, both online and in the store (the latest was just last month IN the store). Is this something new? Perhaps it's just your location? Scotty ps: DUH! After I replied I reread you said half sizes. Yeah, after a certain size, you have to go whole sizes. Interestingly enough, in the latest wedges I got from them, I originally picked up an 11 (didnt notice it was a wide width until out of the store). It was a bit too big, so we went back and got a 10 wide width and it fit great. Maybe you should try the wide width version if 10 is too small and 11 is too big. Just got for the 10WW.

[Dawn HH]

Lorriette:-) Thanks for the compliment. Much appreciated. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[lorriette]

I have talked to many women who would like to have purchased MENS shoes for themselves, but couldn't get them small enough! Maybe retailers should stop arranging footwear into mens & womens, and just rack them by size. Hopefully then, more people would be inclined to complain about lack of choice, and as there would not be distiction lines between m/f shoes, buyers would be more inclined to by a shoe/boot they liked irrespective of it's intended gendre.

[Danielinheels]

I think some of you might be missing the point the manufacturer's are trying to say.

If we sell heels in sizes that men buy, women will not buy them as they think that they are buying a "crossdresser" shoe, so bottom line WILL be affected.

However, what they don't provide is statistics on this. I love to see them actually provide statistics on how many shoes they sell of a certain style in sizes 1 - 10, then intorduce a new style in sizes 1 - 13/14 and see how many they sell. Statistices could show that the 1 - 10 still sells the same, possibly fewer, but not so much as to adversly affect bottom line, and the 11 - 13/14 that are sold may actually be more than the number they "lost" in the smaller sizes.

Most businesses are very "up" on what affects their sales. They don't do something just because they want to. They do it because it will create a better bottom line, which is what their stockholders want.

Until men wearing heels becomes more accepted, you will continue to see this kind of reaction from shoe manufacturer's. Hopefully, one or more of them will begin to look a little closer at the numbers and possibly discover that selling heels in larger sizes may in fact help them out instead of hurt them.

Just my .02 worth from a business point of view.

From a personal point of view, I think they are being just plain selfish to not provide heels in sizes that I can wear. Who do they think they are. (lol)

I can understand your points as a supplier, but there are a few parallels I'd like to draw on my own points.

First, the average FEMALE foot is getting larger, and I'd assume wider as well. A lot of these young women are my contemporaries and participate in a wide range of athletics. As a fellow athlete, sports photographer, bookkeeper/statistician, and officiating crewmember, I see these girls both in their everyday element and in their gameday element. Lots of them wear primarily sneakers on two fronts: it's convenient for them, being athletes and all, but even more than that it's all that's readily available to them (in the case that they wear larger sizes - if not then the whole argument becomes invalid). Some are more blessed than others - I knew a girl who stood 6'6'' and took a size 10, and one who was 5'6'' and took a size 12 - but with this faction of girls getting taller and taller, THEIR demand for more stylish shoes in their sizes will increase.

Illustration: A longtime friend of mine, whom I've heard on many occasions make fuss about the lack of shoes in her size, came over to my house per my invitation. Afterwards I told her I had some shoes I wanted to give her. She assumed I meant sneakers. I meant heels, sandals, and other women's nonathletic shoes. Her biggest shock wasn't that me, a 6'5'' 210 lb guy was into wearing women's shoes, but that I was able to find them in my (our) size. She left with four pairs of shoes, taking her total non-athletic shoe count to eight. The other three pairs? A basic dress pump, a basic dress boot, some flip-flops, and a pair of shoes she wore to prom.

I'm sure that this is a mere microcosm in a big picture, but imagine how many others it could apply to simply because the demand is there from the women.

[hoverfly]

I just won a pair of SM with a 3.5" heel boots form Ebay. Paied retail for them, including shipping. Oh well, I will pay more if they stock larger sizes, of good quality.

[Dr. Shoe]

I think some of you might be missing the point the manufacturer's are trying to say.

If we sell heels in sizes that men buy, women will not buy them as they think that they are buying a "crossdresser" shoe, so bottom line WILL be affected.

However, what they don't provide is statistics on this. I love to see them actually provide statistics on how many shoes they sell of a certain style in sizes 1 - 10, then intorduce a new style in sizes 1 - 13/14 and see how many they sell. Statistices could show that the 1 - 10 still sells the same, possibly fewer, but not so much as to adversly affect bottom line, and the 11 - 13/14 that are sold may actually be more than the number they "lost" in the smaller sizes.

Most businesses are very "up" on what affects their sales. They don't do something just because they want to. They do it because it will create a better bottom line, which is what their stockholders want.

Until men wearing heels becomes more accepted, you will continue to see this kind of reaction from shoe manufacturer's. Hopefully, one or more of them will begin to look a little closer at the numbers and possibly discover that selling heels in larger sizes may in fact help them out instead of hurt them.

Just my .02 worth from a business point of view.

From a personal point of view, I think they are being just plain selfish to not provide heels in sizes that I can wear. Who do they think they are. (lol)

Actually, most women who take the smaller sizes (5UK) are largely unaware of what size they go up to. Think about it, if you take a men's 9 and go into a shop for a pair of trainers would you be awre that they go up to 14? Would you care either way? Of course not! This rather invalidates any idea the manufacturers might have about larger sizes affecting sales.

It is true that women's feet are getting bigger and that manufacturers are not keeping up. See how many 5s and 6s make it to the sale rack and how many 8s and, if they do them, 9s? I'm told that that is because they're supplied with more of the smaller sizes than the larger sizes but it's a vicious circle, THEY STILL AREN'T SELLING! By shifting the size bias upward by just one size will give at least 10% increase in profits because they will be able to sell more at the full price and fewer in the sales. See what they do to increase profits by just 1%!

[RPMindy]

i found this today. thought it might be helpful some... not much, but some!

RPM

http://lifestyle.msn.com/BeautyandFashion/jewelryandaccessories/articleiv1.aspx?cp-documentid=172699&GT1=7607

[Danielinheels]

I read that article from top to bottom - interesting read! I didn't know Kate Winslet was a size 11... I know two of my favorite women (Tyra Banks and Paris Hilton) are, so that's cool to know. I also took this test http://quiz.ivillage.com/beauty/tests/Shoestyle.htm?par=msn|fashion|bs|related%20%20%20&iv_cobrandRef=msnwomen and it turns out, I'm a pointy-toed stiletto/slingback

[azraelle]

I read that article from top to bottom - interesting read! I didn't know Kate Winslet was a size 11... I know two of my favorite women (Tyra Banks and Paris Hilton) are, so that's cool to know.

I also took this test

http://quiz.ivillage.com/beauty/tests/Shoestyle.htm?par=msn|fashion|bs|related%20%20%20&iv_cobrandRef=msnwomen

and it turns out, I'm a pointy-toed stiletto/slingback

LIKEWISE.

[BobHH]

Me, too. Is there anything else? I didn't try to change all the answers to see if it changes.

[Danielinheels]

There was one about a knee high boot, and I'm guessing there's something about a loafer-style shoe too. You'd have to change a lot of answers to go from one extreme to the next...

[sscotty727]

I just got this in my email today (I guess I am on the Steve Madden mailing list).

I'd love to see my wife in those wedges. Given her new interest in heels, maybe I can talk her into them:) (BTW, I just copied the JPG here, I didn't try to include the links, so you will have to go to the website www.stevemadden.com directly).

Scotty

[Dawn HH]

Sscotty727:-) Since I have purchased a pair of Steve Madden boots recently with your help, I have also received the same ad as you. Cheers--- Dawn HH