Undercutting the traditional brands and welcoming internet retailers
The footwear industry at the moment is witnessing one of the biggest new markets ever - that of the 'fitness' or 'toning' shoe. Originally a niche product produced by just a handful manufacturers, this type of footwear has now exploded into the latest footwear must-have.
One of the first companies to produce this style of shoe was MBT. Created in 1999, the company's 'Masai Barefoot Technology' shoes mimicked walking on soft, uneven ground, with a view to promote the body's 'natural instability'.
For many years, MBT shoes developed a loyal following, however the cheap ugg boots uk product remained a very niche product. MBT chose retailers extremely carefully and all underwent training specifically on this product. Only traditional 'bricks and mortar' stores were allowed to become stockists of MBT.
In 2007, a new player emerged. FitFlops were the brainchild of Marcia Kilgore, who initially developed them as a solution to fight cellulite.
In mid 2009, Skechers entered the market, with the launch of their 'Tone-Ups' and 'Shape-Ups' ranges. With similar looks to MBT and FitFlops, a marketing campaign like never before was unleashed. Previously mainly a fashion shoe retailer, the fitness part of Skechers range has now become a core cheap ugg boots sale part of their business.
Undercutting the traditional brands and welcoming internet retailers, Skechers took a large section of the existing market and open up this kind of footwear to the masses. According to a recent survey, Skechers now have around fifty four percent of the toning shoe market.
Not to be left out, many other retailers have also developed their fitness shoes, including the Truebalance range from New Balance, the EasyTone from Reebok and Puma's Bodytone.
FitFlops and Skechers have also greatly increased their offerings since launch, with the fitness platform now used on everything from Flip Flops to cheap ugg boots-style boots.
Originally a niche product involving a handful of manufacturers, over ugg boots cheap the last few years, the toning shoe ugg boots sale cheap has expanded into a huge part of the global footwear business. From a market worth $17million in 2008, it increased to $145 million in 2009 and an estimated $1.5billion in 2010.