Tom Luck just took a step that he admits is a giant leap.
“But only because of these times and conditions, when most independents are falling by the wayside because they can’t compete,” he says.
Luck, president of Lucky Shoes Inc., recently dug his heels into some niche businesses. One is an orthotic examining room and a custom laboratory housed within the walls of a shoe store. The other comprises two new athletic shoe concept shops.
To execute the offerings, Luck added 3,500 square feet to the former 13,000 square feet at Lucky Shoes in Fairlawn Town Centre. The new space accommodates the exam room, the lab, a new line boasting every product prescribed for foot pain and a New Balance concept store specializing in athletic shoes and clothing. Luck also claimed 2,060 square feet at Cleveland’s Great Northern Mall to introduce a second New Balance shop in August.
“To be opening these stores and other locations we’re looking at, it is a gutsy move. But it’s a window of opportunity that I think will make our business a major corporation in the years to come,” he says.
Luck isn’t daunted, because he’s convinced of the need.
“Our shoe store with an orthotic exam room and custom lab is the only store of its kind in Ohio and there’s maybe a dozen stores in the United States that offer the services we’re offering here,” he says.
As for the New Balance concept stores, Luck says they’re the only ones in Ohio, and the 13th and 14th in the United States.
He says the expertise of his two sons will ensure success. Readied by retail management experience at Foot Action USA in Chicago, Luck’s son, Scott, came on board to head up the New Balance division. Luck’s oldest son, John, who completed a pedorthist internship with Roger Marzano at Yankee Bionics, puts his expertise to use in the Fairlawn exam room and lab.
“Basically, I’m like a pharmacist for the foot. I don’t prescribe or do surgery, but I work from the doctor’s prescription to alleviate symptoms,” John says.
In 1995, Luck owned three locations. Today, there are 10 spread across the Akron, Canton and Cleveland area: three Lucky Shoes stores; two Stride Rite Booteries; two Rockport concept shops; a Revelations specialty store for women; and the New Balance stores in Fairlawn and Cleveland.
Annual sales stand at $8 million, and the company employees nearly 100 people.
That kind of growth is why Luck recruited Katy Henderson — formerly operations manager of Just Closeouts — as his vice president and COO. Until he hired her in February, Luck had no administrative staff. To keep costs to a minimum, he and his son John managed the company, relying on the “life blood” of the business: a card catalog file of 70,000 customers who’ve stuck with Lucky since Joe Luck established it in 1919.
“Now, we’re going into the next millennium and passing a business from the third to the fourth generation. To do that and compete with the discounters, we know we can’t coast. It’s by having multiple stores, buying quality, brand products and offering all sizes and widths,” Luck says. How to reach: Lucky Shoes, (330) 836-5577
