Infants may grow up wearing matching Gymboree or Garanimals apparel, but as soon as they are able to talk, they tend to prefer to mix-and-match. Now several companies are catering to this personalization mindset:
• LittleMissMatched — whose concept involves selling products with odd numbers or patterns — continues to expand into a lifestyle brand. It operates five retail stores and its merchandise is available at JCPenney, Foot Locker, and QVC. The LittleMissMatched collection at Babies R Us exclusively sells baby apparel, accessories, bedding, and nursery furniture.
• Chooze, new vegan children’s shoe brand, uses a similar template to LittleMissMatched, in that the left pattern may be sunflowers, while the right pattern is of daisies, but both are in the same hue and shape. Launching in August, Chooze consists of 25 styles, including ballerina flats, loaders, and Mary Jane-style shoes. Each pair is made with 100% vegan materials and anti-microbial insoles. The company is donating 100% of its profits to charitable foundations in what the company calls “conscious capitalism,” in which its business plan is solely focused on making a positive impact on community and society.
Zipz Shoes is arriving in the U.S. after a successful rollout in 55 foreign countries. Its footwear consists of a regular “base” with “tops” to allow wearers to zip various shapes and colors. A shoe is able to transform from a canvas slip-on to a high top to a classic version.
As part of its U.S. launch, Zipz Shoes has signed several licensing deals, including Warner Bros. and DC Comics to showcase vintage superheroes. Zipz’s Jerry Stefani says it’s a key challenge to deal with licensors who want him to lower the shoe’s quality in order keep a low retail price.
“[One kid-oriented brand] wanted us to make a shoe that could be priced $9-$10. We have a high quality product with a heavy insole, expensive canvas, and [the most expensive type of] zipper. We retail at $39 and cannot cut our price. I am not willing to cut corners just to feature a well known character. So we passed. Later that year I saw [this brand] selling a plastic version of our shoe that had these cheesy stickers. It retailed for $9.95.” [Apparel/Footwear]
Contacts and Connections: Chooze, Sharon Blumberg, Founder, 661-224-6693; www.choozeshoes.com.
LittleMissMatched, Jonah Staw, Co-Founder, 307 7th Ave., #501, New York, NY 10001; 877-649-4386; info@littlemissmatched.com; www.littlemissmatched.com.
Zipz Shoes, Jerry Stefani, Chairman, 17855 Fitch St., Irvine, CA 92614; 877-947-9123; jerry@zipzshoes.com; www.zipzshoes.com.
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