Whatever Works: Where Product is King

ProFoot

Starting with the toe-straightener, the partners acquired and designed/manufactured some footcare products. The leader in the field was—and is—Dr. Scholl’s.

“The retail footcare business never really grew,” Brown says. “There’s no romance in footcare. It’s one of those necessary things.”

It’s the philosophy of Brown and his partners to find a niche—a line of useful, different products needed by everyone and that can be marketed with panache and flair. Could the partners go into the footcare business? They decided they could, if they developed a series of products that didn’t compete directly with Dr. Scholl’s—adjuncts that were more clever and had secondary usage. This included products such as orthotics, arch/heel supports, a Gel Donut heel pad, bottom-of-the-foot cushions and specialty insoles.