Recently, I went in search of casual flats with a definite look in mind.  Much to my amazement ... and confusion, I found a great looking pair of comfy, bronze-toned shoes at an equally great price ... in a Dr. Scholl's shoebox.  And then I remembered I'd been down this path before ... serendipitously finding great looking, comfortable shoes ... made by Dr. Sholl.

Wait a minute, I say ... Dr. Scholl is about fixing feet ... foot health and function.  Not about shoes.  With an exception.  Most ladies of the Baby Boomer era are well-acquainted with the Dr. Scholl wooden exercise platform sandal (and yes, that is its full, proper description) seen above and  launched upon the world in the late 1960s.  By the mid 70s, every female I knew was wearing them ... myself included.  It was the "viral" product of the day.  It was also one of the few times I ever gave into peer pressure and followed the crowd.  And wondered ... and still wonder ... why. Getting used to wearing those sandals took some doing.  Arch cramps.  Tryng to keep the things on by scrunching up your toes.  The irritation of the band across the instep.  And trying to run in them?  Forget it - just kick them off and keep on trucking.  If you did choose to stick with it - which I did for a couple of years - you did begin to feel the "love".  Can't say it was ever a wild infatuation on my part.  But they certainly became an ingrained part of my every day existence.  And - at the end of the day - the feet were probably better off for it.  Those sandals are still selling to this day. 

Back to my bemusement and the fact that, over the years, I have come across and bought Dr. Scholl's shoes, shoes that ended up being the comfiest and some of the best looking pairs in the closet.  I really think the company needs to tweak and expand its message and branding efforts to present a more cohesive, bigger picture of the brand's product lines.

When I went and did a little research on Dr. Scholl ... I found out the man did know his way around "shoes" as well as "feet".  He came by his "foot fetish" honestly ... it was in the "genes". 

(If you haven't figured out by now ... I am into all facets of business and branding ... and I love knowing about the innovative people and thinking behind brands and how products found and continue to find their way into the marketplace.)

First of all, Dr. William Scholl was a lot older than I realized ... like 19th century "old".   His grandfather was a shoemaker.  Young William's career began with learning how to repair shoes.  For his first "real" job circa 1900, he worked at a shoe store in downtown Chicago where he daily heard all about people's foot problems ... straight from the horses' mouths.  ( I know it's where I used to do a lot of my complaining as a child.)  People in pain were looking for solutions.  

Young William's response:  Medical School by night and inventing foot products by day, products that included cushioned insoles, arch supporters, and corn and bunion pads ... all those products we still associate with the company today.  With graduation came his brand - Dr. Scholl. 

There was something extra-special about Dr. Scholl.  Unlike most inventors and even many businessmen or doctors ... he was truly an ambidextrous thinker and was able to single-handedly manage the creative side of the enterprise.  He established joint partnerships whereby he would pay commissions to shoe salesmen who pushed his products.  He established a "Cinderella Foot Contest" (love the concept) and sponsored a national walking race.  Dr. Scholl was officially a millionaire by 1915 ... at the ripe old age of thirty-three.  William Scholl would not live to see the insane success of "Dr. Scholl's Sandal" ... the exercise sandal that became a fashion statememt.  He did leave a company with a market value of $100 milion when he died in 1968.

My two questions: 

1.  When is Dr. Scholl's going to start "pushing" their ultra comfy, great looking, and wonderfully priced shoes?

2.   I wonder if (as the saying goes) "the shoemaker's children ever went without shoes?" 

Anybody care to share their own personal memories of wearing Dr. Scholl's sandals ... including which strap was your favorite color, of course ... ? 

Would still love to know from whence the magic came and why those sandals had such an impact on all of us.  (BTW:  Mine were red.) 

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