Congratulations, Skechers…you’ve done it again. Toning shoes is a category of footwear that makes use of wedge rocker soles and/or bulging air pods in the sole of shoes to promote instability. Instability when walking? Don’t pumps, wedges, and other women’s shoes already cause them to trip and fall at an alarming rate? The claim behind toning shoes is that instability forces leg and butt muscles to work harder, thus toning up said muscles. Skechers even claims its Shape Ups promote good posture.
So what has Skechers done so effectively with Shape Ups? Well, it has taken toning shoes which was a niche footwear dominated by anti-shoe maker MBT, and has made it available to the masses. MBT footwear is unique and expensive. Skechers formulated their own design, and compared to $200+ for a pair of MBTs, was able to more than cut the price in half. Skechers has a much wider distribution network including mid-level shoe stores, department stores, and factory/outlet stores.
As Shape Ups caught on, other shoe makers took notice. Avia introduced AviMotion. Reebok has its sex-appeal charged EasyTones. Nike is a holdout. But plenty of other less popular shoe makers are jumping on the tone-up bandwagon as well. K-Mart’s TheraShoes are less than $40 per pair.
What Skechers did was take a good idea, and leveraging their marketing and logistics, make it available to the masses. Toning shoes are no longer niche, they’re made-in-China, big-box, mass-marketed goods. While $115 is hefty to drop on a pair of kicks, it sure beats $245 for a pair of MBTs.
Working as Shoes Supervisor with Kohl’s, I’ve found toning shoes to sellout as fast as they come in (literally, one case never made it to the floor as almost every pair fulfilled a rain check!). Skechers are definitly customer's top-of-mind brand. Plenty of men are angry that we only carry toning shoes for women at my location. Reebok has caught on quickly, and some are finding a cheaper alternative in Kohl's exclusive FilaFit lineup. Many ladies wrinkle their nose at Avia.
It all goes to prove an important point: Recession or no recession, women (who largely comprise the toning target market) will spend just about any amount if a product promises them a sexier rear end for less effort.
Fast forward to the future and I wonder, will toning shoes deliver? So far the user reviews that I’ve heard have been overwhelmingly positive. But someday, will mass-produced toning shoes have the unintended consequences of foot problems? Will the Skechers company die a painful death at the feet (no pun intended!) of class-action lawyers? Toning is trendy right now. It’ll be interesting to see how this trend plays out.
P.S. – I gotta cool it on the footwear blogs…seems that all I talk about lately!
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