Chicago-based Bucketfeet launches on-demand shoe service

By

Rebecca Taras

Published
Aug 23, 2017

Chicago-based footwear brand Bucketfeet has made a name for itself by retailing sneakers embossed with designs submitted by various artists. Now the company is giving consumers the opportunity to customize shoes with a new on demand service that will be fulfilled within 10 days after an order has been placed.

While making shoes in bulk is less expensive than made to order, it was reported that Bucketfeet CEO Raaja Nemani said that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to place bets on what shoes will sell because trends are moving faster and social media is providing consumers with copious options like never before.

When Bucketfeet launched in 2011, it primarily sold its footwear in retailers like Nordstrom, but it was becoming difficult to fulfill advanced requests for seasonal collections. Two years ago the company made the decision to only sell within Bucketfeet’s two stores and website. While this helped the brand in terms of customer market research, it was still filling large minimum orders with their manufacturers, a gamble as not every shoe was a best-seller.

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Now, with a China-based factory producing the on-demand shoes, Bucketfeet will close its brick-and-mortar stores and keep them for possible consumer events attended by featured designers. The company is optimistic that this new selling approach will bring in new customers because they’ll be shipping to 30 countries and each designer promotes their own work, which is like a form of PR. 
 
Bucketfeet is currently working on a solution to make it easier for consumers without design experience to submit artwork. The made-to-order shoes are priced at $85 and each artist will receive $10 for each pair of his or her shoes that are sold.