Most brands hope that positive online reviews will sway new consumers to click “buy.” In the case of David Hoyt, president and owner of the Los Angeles-made Sloggers, glowing remarks nudged him along to take his second-generation, 65-year-old garden and lawn footwear company into the realm of fashionable rain boots and shoes. Comments on Amazon have been generating a buzz beyond those with green thumbs. “Nurses started wearing our shoes. People walk their dogs in our boots. People were wearing Sloggers for any occasion that called for waterproof footwear,” he says.
Hoyt is now giving Sloggers fans more of what they wanted with a tight Spring ’14 collection. It includes a 12-inch rain boot, an ankle boot and a step-in shoe Hoyt calls “a puddle jumper” for women. The 100-percent waterproof collection features the same high quality, medical-grade rubber materials (but not too stiff) and cushioned insoles the brand is renowned for in the garden world. And at $24.95 to $34.94 retail, the exec believes it’s a price-right collection that also includes an easy step-in design. Plus, Hoyt notes, “We do original prints, so there’s none of the sameness in terms of patterns or colors that you see coming from factories overseas.”
Sloggers’ American-made aspect is a badge of honor, according to Hoyt. “There’s a movement of retailers and consumers looking for domestically sourced and produced goods,” he says. “It’s a great place to be right now and we’re commited to continue to manufacture in the U.S.”
