Why Kizik, A Hands-Free Footwear Brand, Has Expanded Into Retail

Stepping into its shoe has never been more critical to the customer journey than it is for Kizik, a Salt Lake City-based footwear brand. In 2017, Michael Pratt, Kizik’s founder, invented “HandsFree Labs®️” Technology, which consists of an internal cage that makes slipping into pair of sneakers hands-free, seamless, and accessible. Then, in 2019, Kizik’s parent company, HandsFree Labs, received a minority stake investment from Nike
NKE
leading to the current day’s 60% year-over-year growth and close to $250 million in annual sales. This Salt Lake City-based start-up is doing well, but it’s recently committed to the physical retail world, which will likely further boost its success.

“Without question, our e-commerce success year over year over the last three years has led to the desire to open a retail store. Our product, a hands-free shoe, is very experiential and demonstrable. While design and style are involved, the distinguishing factor is a patented technology that allows a step-in experience that surprises and delights,” shared Monte Deere, CEO of Kizik. The brand first brought its shoes to customers in real-life at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year. After that, it realized the significant impact of allowing people to immediately step into the shoes, verifying the decision to enter retail.

The Dive Into Retail

About two months ago, Kizik partnered with Nordstrom
JWN
across five doors in the Midwest and West Coast, and almost all the shoes sent have already sold out. In addition, on May 19^th, the brand officially opened its first standalone retail store in Salt Lake City’s Fashion Place, where according to Deere, the brand almost doubled its sales expectations in the first week.

A company will rarely dive simultaneously into wholesale and standalone stores. Instead, many will do pop-ups or wholesale deals first to verify the possibility of success. For instance, Warby Parker is known for testing markets through pop-ups or wholesale before opening stores. It even had a school bus go around the country to test street corners and smaller cities. Another example is FitFlop, a shoe brand that was in over 500 wholesale locations across the US before it opened its first store.

The Lionesque Group designed Kizik’s Fashion Place store, making it both a store and a memorable billboard. It has floor-to-ceiling glass windows, a digital monitor showcasing advertisements, and clear visibility of its entire product assortment. So whether the passerby knows the brand or not, it has an eye-drawing effect. When a customer walks in, the staff focuses on getting that person to try on a pair of shoes, no matter the style or color, just to experience what it’s like to step into a pair of sneakers hands-free. It’s from there that the customer journey begins.

Higher Success Metrics In-Store

“We believed that our conversion rate would be higher in person when people try on shoes than when they see others step in our shoes on a TV ad, a social media video, or our website. And we’re seeing that. In addition, we expected that average order value would increase, that returns would be less, and that general brand awareness in a community where we have a retail store would increase, eventually leading to higher conversion rates when consumers visit our website. So, we think that omnichannel connection with our customers that allows them to try where they are and buy where they are is going to work,” stated Deere.

Although the store has only been open a short time, the company is already seeing many of its hypotheses play out regarding better sales metrics. Many other retail brands, especially digital-first brands, have also seen this. For instance, Argent, a women’s workwear brand, cited its average order value in-store as over three times that of online.

Kizik is optimistic about its future in physical retail, and although it doesn’t currently have any more leases signed, it’s in conversation with various retail partners and landlords nationwide. In response to future plans, Deere stated, “As I said, momentum can accelerate plans, and so we’ll watch and see, test and learn and move forward.”