Press

If the shoe fits... Entrepreneur's larger sizes give many women a reason to smile

Kathryn Kerrigan, a former college basketball player, knows how tough it is to find Cinderella's slipper.

Since prom, the 6-foot-tall, 25-year-old Libertyville woman, has had a hard time finding fashionable shoes that fit.

In an effort to battle the problem, Kerrigan, who wears size 11 shoes, started her own women's footwear, design and distribution company.

After about a year of research, Kerrigan found there is a market for tall women who wear large size shoes. She specializes in sizes 10, 11 and 12.

"Women's feet are getting larger," agreed Barbara Thornton, a Boston businesswoman who sells 55 shoe sizes on her Web business. "The population is getting larger."

Women are becoming more active in sports, one possible reason for larger feet.

After playing basketball for Lake Forest College, Kerrigan earned an MBA from Loyola University in May and started her company, Kathryn Kerrigan Inc., five months ago.

Her target market is the single professional tall woman. Her pumps start at $265; boots go for $400.

"T! he shoes are high quality, made with the best materials," she said. "You can smell the leather when opening the box." Swarovski crystal and beads are often used as embellishments.

The shoes are selling fast. In the first six weeks of operation, her company did $26,950 in sales, depleting most of her stock.

Catalog sales are the thrust of the business right now. She is slowly expanding into boutiques and hopes to debut in large retailers soon. She is talking with major companies in Boston and Los Angeles about expansion.

Her participation in the Shoe Show in Las Vegas next week is a big step where she'll play with the big guys. She's going up against corporate giants including Ralph Lauren, DKNY and Coach.

In an effort to compete, she's placing a heavy focus on marketing, recently teaming up the Women's National Basketball Association. She's working on a photo shoot with 6-foot-2-inch Brooke Wyckoff, a player for the Chicago Sky, Chicago's! WNBA team. Kerrigan is working with Olga Grozdenovic, account executi ve with the Chicago Sky, on additional marketing opportunities. Grozdenovic, who played basketball for Duke, believes in the shoe concept.

"She showed me the catalog and I had the biggest smile on my face. The shoes are adorable," Grozdenovic said.

Kerrigan's father, Paul Kerrigan, may be her biggest fan and believes his daughter has found a niche.

"You may have a good idea, but it's all about how you carry it out," Paul said.

Developing and utilizing contacts has been key, said Paul, a 65- year-old retiree from the banking industry.

Through contacts she developed through family friends, she is having the shoes manufactured in Italy, Brazil and Korea.

She's utilizing many avenues to get her name known.

This weekend she was asked to be a judge on a new reality show, "Chicago's Next Top Model."

Kerrigan, operating from her Libertyville home, is close to expanding to an office setting.

Her father j! okes that other families searching for special occasion shoes for their tall teenagers will have it easier than he did.

"When she was in high school, I had to drive her all over looking for prom shoes. Within 20 miles, there are six regional malls. We hit them all," he said with a laugh.

Kerrigan says her dad grew tired of her complaining that she couldn't find nice shoes in her size.

"One day he suggested that I start my own company and make them," she said. "I'm helping customers feel more confident."

For more, check out www.kathrynkerrigan.com.

In 1987, 11 percent of all women wore above size 9.

In 2000, 37 percent of all women wore size 9 or above.

Approximately $24 billion a year is spent on the women's shoe industry, $9 billion of which is on sizes 9 or larger.

Source: Barbara Thornton of designershoes.com.

Much of Kathryn Kerrigan's Libertyville home houses boxes of the shoes she designs. Paul Valade/Daily Herald GRAPHIC: (text at bottom of article) An additional photograph accompanied this article, however the caption information was not available. Check the dated microfilm for the text of the caption.

Copyright 2006 Daily Herald
Record Number: 839986

Article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)– February 3, 2006 – by Kim Mikus, Daily Herald Business Writer