#726: The Shoe That Changed the Game: Inside the MIA Brand

Foreign business can be a lonely game, but it doesn't have to be. Welcome to Boutique Chat where we explore community over competition and how to scale your company with the balance and the happiness that we all seek. We'll hear from product based businesses of all types, retailers, e commerce and wholesale brands, along with industry experts shaping the future of our industry. I'm your host Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub and and I can't wait to chat. Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast. This week we're going to talk about one of my favorite topics. Are you ready? Shoes. Michael, you're going to bring us into all things shoes today. I'm so excited that you're here and to get to talk all about mia. Thanks for joining me today.

Thanks for having me.

I can't wait. So lots of retailers are listening. Of all different types, right? Home and gift accessories, apparel, children's beauty, all kinds of retailers. And I think everyone has some sort of product line that maybe is new to them. Right. And for a lot of retailers, I think shoes are a new experience or it's an opportunity to double down. Maybe they've tried shoes in the past, maybe they have a limited shoe line. But shoes are something literally every human on the planet needs. Right. So all kinds of opportunity to bring in a new line. Mia has been a partner of ours for a long time. So I'm excited today just to start, start off, tell me more about the background, tell me about the foundations of mia, where it came from and you guys have had incredible growth in the last couple of years. So let's get into that too.

Yeah. So Mia, we, we actually started long before myself. It's a, you know, it's a family business started in Philadelphia and then late 80s 90s came down here. And the brand has changed a lot over the 50 years of our existence. We started off just doing Swedish clogs out of Sweden, you know, wood bottoms, the whole bell bottom trend. Yeah, we still make them today in the little garage factories in Sweden. But the business has evolved into a much more fashion focused, fast fashion focused business. It's evolved into some comfort business and kind of marrying it all together. So there's been a lot of change here as I think most companies have to be changing with the times and you know, when you've been around for this long. So definitely have had a lot of different looks over the years.

Absolutely. So tell me about your team now. Where are you guys located now? Tell me about your reps and where people can find Mia now.

So we're headquartered in Miami. We have our office and our warehouse here. We have a showroom in New York. Our team is kind of spread out across the country. Dallas, California, San Diego, New York, Chicago. So we kind of have people all over to get kind of handle all the different territories. Mainly for boutiques. A lot of the major business is done in house with the department stores and such, but we have a big team specifically to cater to the boutiques. Because for us, that's the best form of marketing to get your brand out there in stores. And people see it and fall in love with it in these smaller stores where they can have more of a relationship with the brand.

Yeah, that's so true. You guys have been such a huge part of the boutique business. I know that's a huge focus of yours. Take me back a couple of years. I think so many people will resonate with the white soul. The very first things they recognize and remember about Mia's kind of regrowth in the last couple of years. Tell me about the evolution of what's happened to the company just in the last couple of years alone.

Yeah, so I think it was 2017 or 2018. Around that time we started to introduce this cushioned insoles. You know, what we use now, our signature sole. And that was the first piece of it, you know, we call footbed is different what others call footbeds. You know, Birkenstock will call their, you know, their bottom a footbed. Everybody has a different, you know, take on what a footbed is. So ours is, you know, it's. It's pretty recognizable with our brand now. What started as a footbed, then put the footbed into a white bottom. And then when that trend came on strong, we kind of ran with it. We were one of the first to the party, you know, marrying up the fashionable look with the comfort side. And it's just taken off from there, from white bottoms into our dress shoes, into our closed toe shoes. You know, we have a team of designers here. They're really technicians. I think they're the best technicians. And they figured out ways to make the product without sacrificing, you know, the look and being able to put this footbed into our boots, which no one would have thought of to do before. But primarily you see it in the sandals. It started off as a cognac brown type footbed. It's evolved and now we wrap it with all different materials, but keeping that one constant that they know that when they buy our shoes, for the most part, you're always going to Be able to get that same Mia comfort. When I go online and I see people's reviews, that's always the first thing that they go to is how comfortable the shoes are. And at the end of the day, I mean, as I get older, you know, I see how important it is to make sure the shoes, you want to wear them all day, right? You don't want to, you know, you want shoes that can be, that can be worn all day and not just look good or feel good. So that was a big part of the, you know, I don't want to say reemergence because we've always been, you know, have had a good business, but we've really taken the business to the next level with, you know, by adding this extra piece. And then what started with white bottoms has just evolved into a full on business.

So yeah, it's become easily recognizable. I would say anyone who's listening knows exactly what we're talking about. We talk about those white bottom sandals and how that, I mean it really became a trend. It wasn't even just about the signature footbed, but it was a trend that I think others are starting to follow whether they had the bed or not. But once you put a pair on, like there is nothing else that feels like it.

So the best part is when you're at the shows with the boutiques and not the best part, but you know, showing them, you know, having them put it on, it's almost like the blind taste test. It's like, I'm sure I can do what you're buying better in the way that it feels. And then, you know, our shoes have flexibility, we focus on all these little selling points because when, you know, when you pick up a shoe and it feels good and it has some flexibility to it and squishy and it's, it's not a rock, you feel better about buying it, you know, and you feel better wearing it.

Yeah, so true. So when you think about like some of your most successful customers in terms of sell through and reorder, what is it that they have in common that you think others who are listening today could learn from?

Probably two things. One is they trust us. And I'm big on that because, you know, we're not here to make a one time sale. We're here to build businesses. And that's kind of the message I give the team and that's why we do these extra things, is I want you to come back. That's where the money is. It's in the reorders. It's in building businesses. So trust, you know, they trust the good buyers, trust us when we tell them these are our best shoes, you know, or if we know their store, we can give them an assortment. And not saying that they don't. Obviously they know what's best for their stores too. But there's a working relationship there that you actually have some trust in us. And then the other thing is people who are most who are very into the product, you can tell when buyers are really into the shoes. And they're not just kind of these spreadsheet type people who just want to look at the numbers and base their buys off that. You can tell when a buyer can see the difference in what you're doing, as opposed to maybe the guy down the street that maybe has a similar look. But you know that they're not putting as much into as much care into it. So it's those stores that I've seen the most success with and that I've seen be the most successful because they care about their end consumer at the end of the day, as opposed to just getting as much margin as they can or as much market as they can. Those are the best qualities, I think, in a buyer.

Yeah, it's kind of a testament to the importance, I think, of going to shows in person. Like, there's always an opportunity to reorder and to order things online. But specific to shoes, I think you hit the nail on the head when you said it's gotta be a partnership. When the store is successful, you're successful and vice versa. And when you order in person, that's where the relationships are built. That's where you can really test out quality and you can really see, you know, like, what does the shoe feel like on my foot, in my hand, like, would I be excited about selling this to my customer? And you can't replicate that anywhere else.

Right. I mean, Covid was difficult during that time, and everybody kind of adapted to having to do lives or online or, you know, just sort of meeting, you know, via teams or zoom. And that was. We were able to get through it. But it was such a relief once we got to the shows to be able to show that the shoes in person. Because, you know, a lot of shoes can look the same over. Over a call, but you really have to touch and feel it. And that's why I think our shoes do so well when we put them in people's stores. You know, we have a good online business, but the store business, I think is key because they. If they're not familiar with our name or our brand, they will be after that. So, yeah, there's nothing replaces that in person communication, that interaction. We have models at most of the shows, and seeing it on the foot, it can change your whole perception of something as opposed to just seeing it over a video. So, yeah, nothing beats in person.

Yeah. How does one become a foot model, Michael?

You have to be a size 6. That's starters. Can't have a. You got to have a nice. Nice hammer toes.

Like.

Yeah. The width of the foot has to. Has to be standard. My designers can probably give you a much better detail of what. What's required. But just having a more of a, you know, I don't want to say normal, but just the standard fit of a six. You know, where it can. Where everything looks good. So luckily, we have a good group of models that we have in New York and Las Vegas and some of these shows that we take them to that they make the shoes look good and sometimes they help sell the shoes. So it always looks better on the foot if you have a good foot model.

That's right, A good foot model. I tell you what, my family genetics would not have allowed any of us to become foot models. So I'm glad that somebody has those genes and they're passing them on.

It's not for everyone, but there's a market out there for it.

So. Good. All right, well, let's talk about people who are new to selling shoes. If this is a new product line. I love this business analogy, and there's so many different ways that I've applied this, even in our own business. But you've probably heard this story of the shoe salesman who goes to Africa for the first time. And he comes back and he, you know, he goes to Africa. He's going to sell these shoes and has all this opportunity for this company. And he comes back and he's like, no dice. Like, I can't sell shoes. Nobody wears shoes here. There's no market for me. And the boss is like, okay. Like, takes the salesman off the job, and another salesman raises his hand. He goes, you know, I'm going to go. I want to go to Africa and try to sell shoes. And the salesman goes to Africa and calls back, and he's like, send me all the cases you can. Like, send them, send them, send them. I'm just. I'm selling like crazy because no one wears shoes here. Everyone is my potential customer. And I laugh thinking about what a mindset that is in business because there's such an opportunity. If you make it one. And so no matter what the new product line is, you know, if someone's new to selling apparel or shoes, I just think it's all about a mindset and how you test it out and how you approach your customer. So when you're thinking about stores who are new to you and new to selling shoes, what are some of the things people need to know about the opportunity and how to position themselves for success right away?

In the shoe business, we call that kind of like white space. You know, where can we find the white space where there's opportunity. And with, you know, stores that just sell clothing, some you want them to be able to come to your store and buy the whole outfit, right? You want to be able to display. And those are actually our favorite type of stores to deal with because those people who also sell apparel, they really know their customer, what they want to dress with. So they can easily pair it with a pair of shoes and they can just kind of like an accessory, right? If you have shoes that are affordable at a good value in there, it's almost like a, it's almost like an add on to the outfit, right? So you're, if you don't have shoes or at least a small collection or at least there to display with the clothing, that that woman, whoever that customer is, is going to go to the store next door, go online to buy their shoes, or you could have just got them at every point. So we've always liked to, we've always in the past have liked to be positioned at the shows in the ready to wear areas so that, you know, we can pick up a lot of stores that don't carry shoes. And that's happened a lot. People come by. So we don't carry shoes, but we want to carry shoes. We can put together a small little assortment for them, you know, because the shoe, the shoe stores know where we're at. They know, they know that you know that they're going to come to us. But it's those ready to wear people that we'd like to show that, hey, it makes sense to also carry some shoes in the store as well.

Are you ready to collaborate with us in community over competition on Pink Friday? I hope so. This is your invitation to join us for Pink Friday November 21, held annually the Friday before Black Friday in an effort to tell your small business's story, mention your massive economic impact and plus support small businesses first before the big box stores on Black Friday every year. Our opportunity to gather together as an industry has never been better. When you sign up, it's completely free at the boutiquehub.com, you're going to get done for your resources, like signage and a complete media kit coming with press releases so you can work with your local media on Pink Friday, plus signage, printed materials, and it will get you on the Pink Friday map. Also new this year, something we've never done and I am so excited about, we're teaming up with Heart on Main street, which is a nonprofit supporting small business owners and retailers who are hit by natural disasters. So this year, the Boutique Hub is donating $1 for every single small business that signs up for Pink Friday on our website. So when you sign up, we're sending money on your behalf to Heart on Main street to support small businesses hit by those natural disasters, specifically this year, the Texas floods. So I hope you'll join us November 21st for Pink Friday host an event, a giveaway, a collaboration. Do what you've gotta do to tell your story of what it means to be a small business owner today. Sign up. Join us for free on Pink Friday, November 21st. How do your case packs work? Like, what's an opening order? What's reorder? How do cases work?

Our cases are Primarily in a 12 pair run, 6 to 10, 7 to 11. We have specific customers. We make fives and twelves and thirteens and fours for. We have a kids division which has different case packs too. But you know, in terms of opening orders, I think right now the opening minimum is like a three case minimum. And that's really so, you know, we again, we want to build a business with people. We don't want to just sell one case here, one case there. You know, we want to be able to showcase the brand in the store. So that's evolved. I think that's on the lower side, I think too, because we do want the footprint. But it also shows a little bit of a commitment back to us as well.

Sure. How about back to those stores again? Like, what do successful stores have in common? Back in the day, this is a long time ago, I worked at the Buckle. Okay, Everybody has a buckle. And the thing that they always did, the buckle, was the shoes were always positioned right next to the dressing room so that no matter what you were wearing, like a sales associate could quickly give you a shoe and you would complete the whole outfit. And here you have an opportunity for average order value. Lift units per transaction. Lift all the things. So what success tips would you give to someone in terms of display and merchandising to Position shoes for success.

Yeah, I mean, we have a really good relationship with the buckle. We sell a lot of shoes at the Buckle, so. And it's funny because they're not a shoe store, but they do a lot of shoe sales. Right. So. And I think again, like you said, it's about the positioning where you put it. If you put shoes in the back corner, in the back wall, you know, you have to get over there to see it. You think about, like, the most successful chain stores or stores out there, like Azara. Right. They're probably the most successful fast fashion chain in the world. Their shoes are all lined up underneath where the clothing is, so that while you're shopping the store, the shoes kind of come to you and they kind of. You kind of see them as you walk the store. And I like that concept. You know, it's also nice when they're sometimes at the buckle. Somebody like the buckle, it's positioned right when you walk in or right by the changing room so you know where the traffic is. But again, I think that when you can mix it into the clothing, I think you're going to get more success that way because you can kind of see how, you know, on the mannequin, how she can wear things like that.

So I think that's so true. And just suggestive selling. You know, if you're training your sales staff and they're supporting somebody who's in a dressing room, they should be suggestive. Selling shoes every step of the way and carrying a shoe to the customer. And even if the customer didn't ask for it, it's just a question of, hey, do you mind trying this on? You'll see how the jeans fit better when you have a shoe on your foot.

Yeah. Layering on just as much as you can kind of layer on it in a healthy way. Right. You don't want to just, you know, pummel someone with shoes. You just, if things make sense, you want to layer in that extra item or that, you know, that piece that'll complete the outfit.

Yeah, it's true for online sales as well. I. We talk about this a lot inside of retail bootcamp, but online merchandising is just as important as in store merchandising. So people who are taking flat lays or they're doing model photos or mirror selfies, like, whatever their strategy is, shoes should be a part of the equation. Equation. And I tell people, even if you don't sell shoes yet, like, you should still have a shoe in the photo. Like, whatever it takes to visually, like complete the outfit because you have to let your customer see themselves in the outfit for them to really want the outfit. And shoes are such a big piece of that.

Yeah. And we invest a lot of money in our own website and our own marketing on that front too, to kind of show how to wear the shoe. Just kind of give it a more personal relationship with our customer. But yeah, I mean, I'm a product of, you know, scrolling on social media and just when I see shoes that excite me, you make it easy to check out and, you know, it's. You end up with a bunch of boxes at your door from wherever it is and you forgot you ordered it. But everybody likes shoes. You know, what my dad always told me was, you know, women need shoes because it makes them feel better.

Right.

It makes you feel better emotionally, it makes you happier. And, you know, that's how I know we'll always have a niche business here just for that purpose alone.

So true. There's nothing like a new pair of shoes. I totally agree. Well, let's specifically top trend. So as this podcast is coming out in the fall, let's talk about what you're seeing for fall, but then also what you're seeing for spring 2026. What can we expect?

So for spring, carrying off from the momentum of this summer, there's a lot of embellishments, a lot of gold and emeralds, a lot of toe rings, a lot of, you know, you have the boho, ho boho thing going on and gladiators starting to come back. There's so many different trends, platforms. We just had a sales meeting the other day and I mean, there's a whole booklet of trends. The fall season is always a bit more. There's a bit less, there's a bit less in the terms of the trend world than usually in the spring season. I mean, transitionally you have flats, Mary Janes, slingbacks. In the boot world, these tall, cleaned up dress boots. Right. So obviously the western boots is kind of a year round thing. Slows down a little bit, like later in the winter. But western is kind of here to stay. I think it just goes hand in hand with the concert culture and the festival culture going on. But for fall, I'd say the biggest looks will be those tall, cleaned up, suede type boots and even those dress boots. I mean, even when boot season is slow, dress boots seem to have a market. We do a big lug sole business. Not that lug soles are necessarily trending, but it's almost like something that never really went Away. But for next spring, yeah, we're seeing a lot of details. Gold details, whip stitch details. There's no big color. Like, they're like in the past, maybe it was red or something that really popped out when we shop Europe. But it's really about all the little details that you're adding charms. You see these things, these charms that women are wearing on their shoes, on their sneakers. That's all going to keep evolving into maybe some fringe looks on sandals and boots. So it just keeps evolving and it's like Groundhog Day because, you know, it's all this stuff has been around before and it's just a matter of, you know, when the person at the top of the food chain, you know, these designers decide to, you know, introduce it again on the, on the Runway. It's, it's like, okay, this is back, right? Kitten heels for fall. Seems like everybody wants to get a bit lower now as opposed to the really high sexy heel. But yeah, a lot of. And again, comfort. Anything that's sneakers, I mean, that's probably the biggest, still the biggest business out there, mainly in the Nikes of the world and people like that. But we are seeing some, some success in our fashion sneakers too. So.

Yeah, absolutely. And you guys have some new developments happening, right? You have a new line that you guys are.

Well, so we, we launched a brand that was specifically tailored for the boutiques a couple years ago, maybe probably two years ago. This is probably the third. We're going to the third spring season next year. Mia, limited edition. It's all genuine materials, not sold to any big box stores. It's catered really to that fashion boutique that we want to, you know, kind of just grow that footprint in. And it's been successful. It's very rope, raffia, dominant. And you know, if you speak to anyone in the shoe business, this spring was dominated by raffia. Anything in rope and raffia really did well. And that's kind of what that brand's, you know, we're from, you know, we're in Miami. Has a little bit of a Miami city, you know, influence into it. Whereas most of our shoes kind of maybe have more of a mass, mass appeal. This one is bit more fashion driven, but caters to the boutiques that we sell.

Awesome. Michael, any last parting advice for retailers who are listening and they're getting ready to, you know, place their spring buys and they're finishing, you know, holiday and all the fill in orders that they have. Any last minute advice when it comes to footwear?

The advice I would have is as much as, as much as boutiques can work out in the future and plan out their buys and plan out what their floors are going to look like, the better that brands can take care of you and get you the exact product you need and make sure, you know, because if you wait till the shows or you know, if you wait to book everything in person at the show in season, you know, things sell out, right? It's very hard to buy everything perfectly and usually if one item is hot, everybody wants it. So I always say if you know for sure you like something, go ahead and get it, get it placed and then come, you know, get that the pyramid, get that base booked and then you can get the sprinkles at the show and see what you missed. And I do that with all my customers. I try to always tell them as much as you can work ahead of time, you know, you're going to be covered, we're going to be covered and you know, it's the best way to work together. Else you're just chasing all the time. Which is what happens a lot of times it boutiques and it's part of the business and that's why we carry stock and but if you want, you want your photo look exactly a certain way, you always, you know, you can book three, four months out. It's always an advantage.

It's so true. And it's the way I feel like our industry's evolved so much. You know, that used to be the standard for everybody. No matter what you're ordering was and home and gift especially, they're a year out, you know, they're a whole year in advance. And all of a sudden everything got so fast and now we're like kind of, I think going back to the standard of nah, good product, you've got to get it in advance.

Well, during, during COVID it was, it stretched out, everybody had to book way in advance. And then it came back. Now it's, we're back on that three month, four month turnaround time. You know, from when you send an order to when we can deliver. It just depends on the types of shoes. But everybody wants faster, faster turns. So we, you know, if you have good suppliers and you have a good team, you know you can do it. We pride ourselves on that.

So love it. Well Michael, thanks so much for joining me today, you guys. I'll link up all of Mia's information in the show notes for today. Of course you can find them at all the shows we'll be at across the fall in the spring in Dallas and Atlanta and Las Vegas and all the places on Hubventory as a part of the Boutique Hub inside of our groups, you guys have been such a great partner of ours at the Boutique Summit as well, so we sure appreciate you.

And likewise, I have seen a. I mean, since we joined the Hub, I've always been a big fan of that because since we joined the Hub, I've seen the uptick in traffic and it's definitely a great partnership for us and we value it. And I think it's a big credit to the work you guys do and the work our team does with you guys and the sponsorships that we've done together and something that we're invested in with you. And we've seen a lot of positive feedback from it. So thank you as well.

You're so welcome. We love partnerships like this where the product's awesome, the people are awesome, and all of our stores can have success in the meantime. So appreciate it. Michael, thanks so much for joining me today. Thanks for listening, guys. I hope you took away all kinds of nuggets and new ideas from this week's episode. Episode. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a rating and review. We love to hear your feedback and give you a chance to be featured on the show each and every week. For more information on our spirit of community over competition and to access guest downloads and bonuses and all the resources we talked about on the show, head on over to the boutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week.