Plans and predictions for 2025 are in. Here, leading industry executives share their resolutions, goals, and crystal ball readings based on experience and in-depth analysis. Only hindsight will tell whether 2025 will be a smooth ride in the right direction. Until then, it’s full speed ahead despite the detours, potholes, traffic jams, and roadblocks that might be around the bend. Buckle up.
Sam Spears, President
Ara North America
Resolutions: The aim is to surprise, which includes receiving Fall/Winter ’25 samples early enough to attend January shows and meeting extremely early product delivery dates. Another surprise: the launch of our first bag collection this fall.
Goals: Continue double-digit growth in curated fashion and not just growth for growth’s sake. Launch a B2B platform. Better SKU management. Introduce an eco-friendly shoe box and a highly legible, retailer-friendly box end label.
Predictions: Our hands-free Easy2Go launch will be highly successful. Confusion in how to manage possible tariff increases, be it sourcing strategies, transportation challenges, and pricing. Tariffs could be a big interrupter in all aspects of American lives. Increased costs will reduce consumers’ willingness to spend on footwear and accessories. Return to office increases, which will cause dressier sales to surge, especially the comfort-dress category since the majority of consumers have been wearing sneakers for half a decade. The next must-have “it” item will emerge, igniting the industry. Weather extremes and lack of true seasons will impact sourcing and create the need for more transitional styles. Instability and violence in developing regions will have unforeseen impacts on global trade. Labor relations at domestic ports will keep strong pressure to ship from country of origin and import earlier to hedge any bets.
Adam Beck, CEO
Beck’s Shoes
Resolutions: Focusing in on our 80/20 inventory rule. We believe that our team shouldn’t have to work hard to make the first sale happen and that 80 percent of our top line sales are driven from the top 20 percent of styles displayed. We need to focus on how we can earn another spot in our consumers’ closets. So, creating a second and even third pair sale of something that they haven’t purchased from us before.
Goals: Improved inventory turn and cash flow to be positioned to take advantage of all opportunities! Continue to pour into our internal teams to develop and teach them everything we know. Continue to work with are proprietary software developer to integrate AI with all our buying and inventory management systems.
Predictions: I see healthy, slow growth while earning loyalty from our end consumers. I also see the average length of employment from our team members growing. Tariff increases will create a domino effect from the supply chain to wholesale to retail to all consumers. We must combat this through added value. We need to roll the red carpet out to each customer—offer them a water, take pride in our visual appearance, and train staff daily for five-minute bursts. We’re at retail war, and the business needs to be taken more seriously than ever before. Not a prediction, but a hopeful end to the Middle East and Ukraine wars that can only help business in general. Fear is a big emotion that absolutely drives purchasing patterns and consumer confidence. Fear is also affecting our country regarding a new administration. Unity as a nation is truly the biggest issue that Americans are facing. I focus on what I can control to affect positive change. Control the controllables is my north star.
Kitty Bolinger, President
Dansko
Resolutions: As a 100 percent employee-owned (ESOP) company, our resolutions must include providing a sustainable path to prosperity for our employees and their families. A culture that nurtures our commitment to listening to our employees, consumers, and retailers is key to achieving the growth necessary to accomplish that. To that end, our leadership team has committed to meet our consumer where she is—stores, festivals, conferences, etc.—to learn and respond to her needs. We’ve resolved to spend much more time out of the office in 2025. We’re calling it our “epic road trip.”
Goals: Supporting women in pursuit of meaningful work. Growth.
Predictions: Dansko will show up in new ways in 2025, which will lead to deeper relationships with our key independent retailers and consumers. Our industry will continue to consolidate, the survivors will be retailers and brands that understand their brand (less me too, stronger brand identity) and how it connects with consumers. I wish that I could be as optimistic for our planet. Grace, kindness, and hope have taken a back seat. But then I’m reminded that there are still people that care about the planet. Dansko founders Mandy and Peter Cabot’s latest endeavor includes putting hundreds of thousands of acres of rain forest in Belize into preservations. We just don’t celebrate people like them enough. Prioritization and celebration go hand in hand. When one is absent the other follows. So, I have deep concerns about what the crystal ball says about the fate of our planet.
The Big Story in 2025 will be Trump, Tariffs, AI, War: That’s a tough one. There is the “what should be” versus the “what will be.” I’d put AI, the Middle East and Ukraine wars, and global warming in the former column. I believe that all things Trump will be the biggest story, and history will decide what kind of story it is.
Dave Levy, Owner
Hawley Lane Shoes
Resolutions: Just constantly upgrading our level of customer service mostly through education and product knowledge. Basically, everything that we’ve been doing for years but just to raise the bar. Also, work more with the medical community.
Goals: It’s always to increase margins, which is very hard to do in this difficult environment. To increase multiple sales through education of our sales staff. We’re implementing goals for our management that ties them into the success of increasing those sales. To foster more of a team environment. If someone isn’t helping a customer, then instead of just standing there they’ll introduce themselves to one being serviced. It’s a tag team effort to make customers feel extra special.
The Big Story in 2025 will be: Everyone in the industry is afraid of the potential tariffs situation. On the one hand, higher price points are good for us, but our initiative to increase multiple sales won’t happen much if prices go up $20. The fact is it’s a very difficult environment. Last year our sales were up just a little bit. July, for some reason, and November with the warm weather were tough months. But then we had some decent months and along with some really kick-ass days and then you think: We’re still relevant. They’re coming into our stores to buy shoes. It’s very encouraging. Tariffs aside, if we can increase our multiple sales, raise the level of our in-store experience, and make customers feel like they’re in good hands, then I expect we’ll be ok.
Bruce Kaplan, CMO
Impo Intl.
Resolutions: Our team is committed to re-inventing itself at all levels and departments. While our business starts with Shoes and People, every area will be reviewed to ensure that we put our best foot forward every day. We aim to constantly ask ourselves if we are in the best position to provide the very best shopping experience for our customers. Do this alone, and achieving most revenue targets, without unforeseen circumstances, will follow.
Goals: Our top goal is to provide for everything that belongs in our customer’s closet. We offer dress, boots, sandals, flats, and pumps. We also just launched a casual line, which was met with terrific results at FFANY. Our customers seek a bit more in terms of fashion, details, construction, and fit, and our goal is to deliver these attributes in every classification we offer.
The Big Story in 2025: There are both exciting and unsettling times ahead. Consumer sentiment continues to shift, making channel execution and management more important than ever. Issues like tariffs and port strikes will continue to loom over our industry until they are resolved. Strategic approaches to mitigate risk and ensuring our fundamentals are solidly in place will help us weather these storms. Ironically, neither of these issues may end up being the biggest stories of the year. One area that may not be talked about as much that will become a larger story is the changing consumer sentiment and purchasing habits, along with the shortened seasonality of key product classifications. For example, the shorter life cycles of selling boots and sandals require a new strategic look at planning and product development. Merchandising and marketing fundamentals will be more important topics than ever.
Prasad Reddy, CEO
Twisted X Global Brands
Resolutions: Just keep on doing the right things with regards to business, sustainability, philanthropy, and innovative products. It’s always about what’s next. That said, our goals aren’t so much about hitting certain percentage growth targets. Rather, we have distribution goals, because we want more retailers to know about our brands. So our sales goals are more internal.
predictions: Every year is challenging, and 2025 looks to be no different with the change in leadership in the country. There will be challenges based on what Trump decides to do. The possibilities of increased tariffs, by far, loom as the biggest one.
Elena Brennan, Owner
Bus Stop Boutique, Philadelphia
Resolutions: To adopt a new understanding of what expanded role I play in my local small business community, what I want to be known for, and what further impact I can have with my shoe designs and collections. I’ve streamlined my buying strategy since Covid. Instead of representing a vast array of brands and only showcasing a few styles, I’ve narrowed it down to a key select designers and expanded SKUs. This way I can really showcase a collection and tell a story. It’s great for merchandising, too!
Goals: My top goal is to continue designing my own brand Bus Stop X, which is a collaboration with All Black Footwear. I’ve been designing custom styles with them since 2015, and I’d like to expand to different silhouettes.
The biggest story of 2025 will be Trump, Tariffs, AI, War: It’s a combination of all those, but the one that worries me the most are Trump’s tariffs as it will make the cost of goods go up quite a lot. Will our customers be willing to pay extra? I don’t think so! And of course, I’d love to see the end of all wars. It saddens me that so many innocent lives are being lost, and in general it doesn’t help business. Consumers are definitely affected negatively by it.
Marty Rose, North American Distributor
All Black
Resolutions: Do not complain about sales performance in 2024, focus only on the future growth!
Goals: Maintain our current customer base and add at least three new customers from every trade show attended in 2025.
predictions: My crystal ball sees many new styles that continue to separate All Black from the core competition. We also see capacity challenges and balancing quality control with growth demands as key issues to conquer. A growth in importance of color. A world seen only in black, white, gray, and brown will change dramatically. Real growth in color appreciation and designs that focus on color dominance will lead the footwear designer trends across all sectors.
The biggest story of 2025: Trump/tariffs will be the big story, but the situation may be easier than expected. The new tariffs should be on items and services that impact the production process versus being added onto the finished product. We can gradually take price increases if the higher price is to justify a higher quality product. But increasing the price of shoes just to cover tariffs will backfire.
Randy Ochart, CEO
French Sole
Resolutions: Continue to expand our online presence since the majority of purchases have shifted to this venue. This is the only way for brick-and-mortar retailers to survive in today’s market!
Goals: To increase our international presence, which largely went the way of the dodo during the pandemic. Much of the planet is back on track, and we’re again focusing on the Japanese and many other markets, knowing that we can rekindle our presence with very little effort.
predictions: My crystal ball says it’s all about the ongoing shift to online sales. The challenge is acclimating the business to understand the related dynamics for our retailers, how to deal with credit and returns, how to develop an understanding of what the majority of their clients want from them and to focus their merchandising accordingly.
