FLIP-FLOP SHOPS GETS SOLE BILLING
RETAILER BELIEVES CASUAL FOOTWEAR DESERVES A STORE OF ITS OWN
By Molly KnightShopping Centers Today- September 2008
Flip-flops should get more respect. And now there is a group of entrepreneurs out there determined to see that it happens. They plan to elevate this footwear-sector supporting player to a starring role — even to the point of providing flip-flops with their very own stage, by means of a chain that sells nothing but.
Perhaps there is something to all of this. In any case, the chain in question, appropriately called Flip Flop Shops, is poised to grow from its current seven units to about 230 over the next five years, its managers say. All the stores are franchised.
The idea for the Atlanta-based chain came to retail consultants Todd Giatrelis and Sarah Towne in 2004. They were in Las Vegas for a convention, and Towne began complaining that her shoes were killing her feet. Giatrelis and Towne set out to find a pair of open-toed sandals, but they were stunned to discover instead how difficult that could be. What the world needs now is a store devoted to flip-flops, they realized.
After a false start in Boston with a store that performed poorly, the partners shifted their market focus to Southern California and Arizona. They had seven stores up and running when they met Brian Curin, Darin Kraetsch and Alan Woods, who helped build the franchise systems of ice-cream giant Cold Stone Creamery and, more recently, of Raving Brands’ casual-dining flagship concept, Moe’s Southwest Grill. Curin, Kraetsch and Woods left Raving Brands and decided they wanted a franchise company outside the food business. When they met Giatrelis and Towne, they were intrigued.
“They were old-fashioned innovators who came up with a great idea but didn’t have the vision or the resources to take it to the next level,” Kraetsch said. “We did some research into the demand for flip-flops and realized we had a hugely profitable brand with low overhead costs we could take across the country. Plus, there was nothing else like it.” Last year they bought stakes in the concept, and Kraetsch became the company’s CEO, Curin its president, and Woods the COO.
Kraetsch was impressed with the extensive offerings within the category, with price points of the many brands ranging from $22 to $150 and the average pair going for $49.
“We’re not talking about thin, rubber shower shoes,” said Kraetsch. He points to the high-quality brands his stores carry, such as OluKai, the official flip-flop of the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association. “We’re talking about anatomically correct, stylish sandals that people want to wear everywhere.”
Everywhere indeed — even to the White House, it seems. The Northwestern University women’s lacrosse team caused a flip-flop flap a few years ago when they chose to wear the sandals for a meeting with the president. Critics argued that such an occasion calls for closed-toed shoes, but others defended the unconventional choice, pointing to the dressier nature of the particular flip-flops at issue.
“Typical flip-flops are still seen as super-casual shoes to slip on before or after competing in athletic events,” said Meghan Cleary, a shoe expert who runs a shoe-themed chat blog at MissMeghan.com. “That being said, classic Greek leather sandals in the flip-flop style can go for a couple hundred dollars at, say, Manolo Blahnik and can absolutely be used to dress up an outfit.”
Cleary says this is a great time for the likes of Flip Flop Shops. “Shoes are just exploding right now,” said Cleary. “And from a consumer perspective, the name of the store makes it so easy. If you need flip-flops, now you know where to go. Done.”
Curin says Flip Flop Shops’ core customer is between 15 and 28, and nearly two-thirds are female. “Women are more likely to buy more pairs, so they can have a bunch of different styles and colors to go with any outfit,” said Curin. The stores measure between 500 and 800 square feet and are required to carry at least 10 brands, OluKai, Rainbow Sandals, Reef and Roxy among them. Store operators can then pick and choose other corporate-approved national and local brands to add to the selling floor, says Curin.
In Southern California there are Flip Flop Shops units in the Irvine Co.–owned Irvine Spectrum and in General Growth Properties’ Glendale (Calif.) Galleria and Otay Ranch Town Center, in Chula Vista. In Arizona the company has set up shop in the Phoenix area at Macerich’s Scottsdale Fashion Square and Chandler Fashion Center, and in Tucson at General Growth’s Tucson Mall and Park Place Mall. “In the Arizona heat, flip-flops are worn year-round,” wrote Munira Smith, marketing manager of Chandler Fashion Center, in an e-mail. “Flip Flop Shops offers guests a great selection of sandals for the entire family.”
But Flip Flop Shops will not rely on just the Southwest desert weather to drive sales. The company’s next sites will be Boise, Idaho; Nashville, Tenn.; and Salt Lake City, as well as in the Shops at Mandalay Bay, in Las Vegas. “Flip-flops have really become everyday lifestyle footwear,” said Kraetsch. “We are aggressively looking at all U.S. markets.”
Kraetsch says the company plans to have about 80 stores open in Florida by 2013. “But really, we feel this concept has legs in all 50 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam,” he said.
The company is set to open a shop in Vancouver, British Columbia, next spring, and Curin says he has heard from potential franchisees in the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East and the Philippines.
Initial rollout will take place in high-traffic regional malls and lifestyle centers, Kraetsch says, but nontraditional locations such as hotels and airports are targets too. The chain’s bright orange and blue colors cast a glow on the surf-inspired photos that hang on the walls. Jack Johnson and Bob Marley are among the beach-friendly musicians the stores play in heavy rotation, and the air carries the unmistakable scent of tanning lotion.
Perhaps most important, Flip Flops Shops units will multiply, but not the product line, says Kraetsch. “At some point, you have to decide what you’re good at and be good at it,” Kraetsch said. He learned from Cold Stone’s failed attempt to sell smoothies in the early days, he says. “There will be no athletic shoes, no cotton candy. We do flip-flops, and that’s it.”
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