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Lems Shoes Reshapes Footwear, Online Sales
FARRELL, Pa. -- For the past six years, Andrew Rademacher has been cutting shoes in half.
Along the back wall of Lems Shoes, the company in Farrell, Pa., that Rademacher founded in 2010, are three shelves filled with shoes both intact and halved.
The shelves are a testament to the six years of research that Rademacher has spent to build a better shoe.
“I couldn’t find a shoe that fit the shape of my foot,” he begins.
“No shoe was comfortable. They always squeezed my toe and elevated my heel. Traditional shoe companies continue to design shoes that squeeze your toes together and make it uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s for fashion purposes. Or sometimes they just don’t know the shape of the human foot. We spend a lot of time designing a shoe that works with [the foot] naturally.”
What Rademacher looks for are what the consumer notices, such as style – and what he overlooks, such as the thickness of the sole.
“For sole thickness, the compounds in the sole have to be precise,” he says. “Five millimeters is a little too thin and six is a little too thick. Five point five is just right.”
His research led to the biggest distinction between Lems and typical shoes: the shape.
Most shoes, Rademacher says, are too narrow. They come to a point centered above the toe, which results in pressure on the toes. Lems shoes, on the other hand, are narrow at the heel and come to a point above the big toe, they follow the shape of the foot and thus provide a more comfortable fit.
Also setting Lems apart is the flexibility of the shoes. “Our shoe flexes with the foot, so it allows the foot to function naturally,” he says. “Through the natural gait cycle, it doesn’t impede or artificially support the arch. It just allows the foot to flex and bend and use your full range of motion.”
Since joining Lems in October as its marketing and public relations coordinator, Brad Maniscalco has made the switch from typical shoes.
“You can feel the pinching on the toes when you put on anything else. The ball of the foot starts to hurt more,” Maniscalco says. “I had a pair of wingtip boots that I used to wear all the time. And now, after walking even a few hundred yards [in his old shoes], I can begin to feel some pain.”
Customers seem to have had similar experiences and sales of Lems rose. The company sold 2,500 pairs of shoes last month and has shipped to 50 countries, Rademacher reports.
The shoes are made at a factory in China and shipped to a warehouse in North Carolina from where orders are shipped.
Most of the success of Lems has come from the Internet. Thirty stores in four countries carry the shoes, but Rademacher estimates that 90% of Lems sales come through its website, LemsShoes.com.
The company’s newest product is its Nine2five, a dress shoe.
“The wide toe is something that a lot people see in athletic shoes, but those people that are interested in the natural shape of the foot don’t want to wear bright colored, highly accentuated shoes out every day,” Maniscalco says. “What I think is awesome about Lems is that we’re trying to incorporate that natural shape into more casual footwear.”
The Nine2five in black sold out within days of its introduction last December and a brown version came shortly afterward.
The vice president of marketing and sales, Steve Perna, says that once people try on a pair of Lems, the reaction is almost instant.
“It’s an adjustment at first because you’re used to footwear that is more binding and tight. But once you get used to that initial feeling, it’s like wearing nothing at all. I’ve had customers tell me they sometimes forget to take them off at night,” he says.
In adopting the shoes, Perna has noticed a physical difference. “My feet have gotten stronger. I’ve noticed my toes have spread out more, which has given me better balance. I’m a fan of yoga and sports and these have definitely helped along those lines,” he says.
The company follows what Rademacher calls the “eco-rule of 50%,” an effort to reduce the company’s carbon footprint.
“We use one color of ink. Our box size is about 50% [the size] of a traditional shoebox. We eliminate the use of a midsole. We just use the outsole, so there are less molds,” he explains. “Through the production process from the cutting of the material to the gluing and stitching, we’ve eliminated everything. Compared to a traditional shoe, it uses about half [of the material].”
The next project for Lems is an expansion of its line of boots, with new products expected to be introduced this winter. Rademacher is designing a new type of boot, and close to completion.
“This [design] has a little bit of fur on top. This fur is just a little bit light and it’s already been sent back to the factory with a sample of a little bit darker fur,” Rademacher says.
What helps Perna and his two co-workers, he says, is knowing that they can make a difference in people’s lives and the shoe industry.
“We’re here to help and we believe wholeheartedly in what our shoes can do and how they can affect people,” he says. “I’ve gotten emails from 80-year-old grandmothers who say they’ve gotten our shoes as a present and they can’t stop wearing them and they no longer have to use their cane.”
Pictured: Andrew Rademacher, founder of Lems Shoes.
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Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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