I had this idea for a while, since I think a lot about barefoot shoes. When researching shoes today I stumbled across an opportunity for that and a quick google search turned up more. Vivobarefoot, Senmotic, Xero and Kinis seem to have or had investment opportunities. I didnt read it thoroughly though.
Im interested in:
- Do any of you invest in barefoot shoe companies? Would you mind sharing your reasoning? and how it works? I didnt invest anything so far in my live, so I dont have a lot of prior knowledge about these things. Do you think investing small companies like these is risky?
- Where do you see the future of this niche market? Do you think it will prosper? me personally I like to think that barefootshoes will be the dominant shoe type in 20 years or so. But I know that Im heavily biased by my own likings. I do see opportunities for growth though. As it seems the barefoot market is especially popular with young parents and maybe mothers in particular. So this might produce a new generation of grown ups for which barefootshoes are a no brainer. Also people seem to have increasingly more money and awareness for health stuff like that.
Im looking forward to your replies!
Several years ago I bought a pair of shoes from a retailer that was primarily online. Once I received my shoes, I wore them around my house to try them out. They weren't comfortable, so I returned them. Apparently that "use" created a micro-bend in the leather, which made their appearance slightly less than brand new. They told me they were refusing to refund my money for the shoes.
I went back and forth with them for a few days, and they kept refusing to refund my money, but did offer to mail me back the shoes I could not wear because they were poor quality and hurt my feet. Eventually I contacted Pay Pal, provided my tracking number for the return, and my money was returned.
Here's the fun part. While going through this drama I discussed the situation with one of my good friends. About a month after this incident she texts me a picture of a shoe box and asks "is this the brand that wouldn't refund your return?" I answer in the affirmative, to which she replies, "you tell them your friend works at the second biggest REI in the country, where footwear is the top-selling department, and I'm telling every customer I see not to buy their shoes."
I didn't end up telling them anything, but their brand is no longer carried at our local REI.
Should've just given me my damn refund. I wonder how much this wound up costing them.
I understand people in these circumstances would likely use a wheelchair or even have a prosthetic leg/foot. It still seems like the real foot or the “active shoe” would wear at a much faster rate than the static one.
What about something more common like a broken leg with a cast? Would a cast be on and off faster than the time it would take to wear out a shoe? I don’t know of anyone personally who’s had a cast so I don’t actually know much about the process.
TLDR: Seems like a scam to have to buy a pair of shoes if you only have one foot.
I hear they are US made.
Iam seriously dissapointed by the Pakistani companies that make shoes because none of them make sizes bigger than European 45. It is so disappointing that only 1/10 shoes ever fit me and I always fail to understand why they dont make bigger sizes?
Posted on r/autisticpride about how a shoe company makes really excepting shoes. It includes 4 pictures ranging from product description to the goals of the shoes etc. I couldn’t cross post so I’ll try and link in comments
Is there a way to find out which companies avoid using Uyghur slaves to build their products? I know Nike and Adidas use it for sure, while smaller companies like Newton don't. Not sure about Hoka, though they claim to be ethical and environmentally friendly
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