One of the hardest items to find for men is dress shoes. Men's athletic shoes come in all shapes and sizes, but dress shoes and casual shoes may not vary much in style. If you are a business adding men's shoes to your retail store, make sure you buy a nice variety of shoes to sell.
Make sure that the shoes you sell compliment the other products and items for sale. Do not add a large section of men's athletic shoes or leisure shoes if you mainly sell men's business attire. However, it may be good to carry at least a few of these items.
More than anything, you need to know what your clients are looking for. Since this statement is much easier said than done, consider the following when buying shoes for men:
1. Buy men's shoes in a variety of price ranges.
2. For men's dress shoes, stick to the basic colors, but offer to make special orders if clients request them.
3. Stock athletic shoes that will appeal to the largest number of clients, like running shoes for men.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
The best places to buy men's leisure shoes
Include some leisure shoes, even if you mainly carry athletic shoes, in order to appeal to the one-stop shopper. Leisure shoes should offer comfort as well as style.
I recommend: If you are looking to offer leisure shoes for men,
Matin + Osa is a good website. They offer inexpensive casual sneakers, casual men's shoes and men's boots, and flip-flops.
Birkenstock is a well known name in casual footwear. Known for comfort, they offer a small array of shoes and sandals.
Land's End offers a variety of comfortable shoes for men and their prices are inexpensive, starting around $15.
Buy running shoes for men and men's athletic shoes
Each sport has its own type of unique shoe. In order to know what types of men's athletic shoes to buy, you need to know what sports to market. Also look at wholesale or discount shoe suppliers because you can often find both brand name and off- brand shoes at discounted prices.
I recommend: Adidas,
Nike Store, and
Reebok all offer shoes for every sport, including running. If you want to buy men's running shoes and men's athletic shoes at discount or wholesale prices, check out
Shoe Pavilion,
Shoes.com, and
Shoenet.com.
Find and buy men's dress shoes and men's casual shoes
Offer shoes for every occasion. Keep a stock of men's dress shoes and men's casual shoes. Be sure to offer your customers the ability to order and buy men's shoes in hard-to-find sizes.
I recommend: Cole Haan has a nice collection of shoes for men; dress shoes begin around $150. Cole Haan also offers a small variety of men's casual shoes, also starting around $150.
Allen Edmonds offers a variety of luxury men's shoes, from dress shoes to casual. Prices start around $200. For big and tall shoes, visit
Casual Male; you can find extra large sizes in all types of footwear here.
Johnston & Murphy,
Stacy Adams, and
L.L. Bean are also great places to find men's casual shoes and men's dress shoes.
Sell designer men's shoes to appeal to the most distinguished clients
When you think of prestigious men's shoes, you probably think of designers. This is exactly where you will find the top men's business shoes for your retail business.
I recommend: Salvatore Ferragamo has a wide variety of styles, but pricing begins around $500 and goes quickly into the thousands.
Gucci also offers a selection of men's dress shoes, starting at about $450. You can also find a variety of designer men's shoes at
Marc Jacobs and
John Lobb, but you will need to contact these companies to obtain pricing.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- If you are looking to sell top men's business shoes, consider buying directly from the designer. It would be difficult to make a profit if you had to pay regular retail prices.
- If you plan to sell men's athletic shoes, contact local sports teams to see if you can service their shoe needs. This can help you obtain new clients and will let the community know that you are now offering a new service.
The official source of Men's Shoes is the Mens Shoes page at Business.com
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