Discovering A Danish Shoe: How Dansko brought clogs to work

“These were the best shoes Id ever worn,” says Amanda Cabot.

AMANDA CABOT AND PETER KJELLERUP were on a business trip to Denmark in the late 1980s. They were horse trainers and dressage instructors with a large farm in Pennsylvania. But the clog with a closed heel caught Cabots eye. When she put the shoes on her feet, her life changed forever.

“They had everything I liked about traditional clogs great arch support, a high toe box so my toes could move, and were easy to take on and off. What set these clogs apart was a flexible polyurethane outsole that gave them far more stability, shock-absorbency and rebound than traditional clogs made of wood,” she says.

Cabot and Kjellerup bought pairs for themselves and, on return trips, pairs for their staff at the farm, where the shoe quickly became the only shoe worn. With each subsequent trip abroad, more clogs came to the U.S., and before long Cabot knew she was embarking on a new career. She had no background in the shoe business or in wholesaling and distribution. Today she credits her lack of preconceived ideas and expectations as a significant competitive advantage.

Cabots family contacts introduced her to shoe industry executives who offered advice and then offered to buy her new enterprise. “That offer alerted me to the fact that I was onto something big,” offers Cabot.

The couple named their company “Dansko,” literally translated as “Danish shoe.” After several years, they moved their inventory from the farm to a small warehouse in West Grove, Pa. After several more years, they sold the farm and built their current state-of-the-art headquarters and warehouse.

Apparently, Cabot was not the only one to have a positive reaction to this style clog. Ask the cocktail servers at Caesars Palace in Atlantic City or the maternity nurses at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston or chef Emeril Lagasse. In fact, the company now ships nearly a million shoes annually to approximately 3,000 retailers in North America.

For the past 12 years, Dansko has been a growing force in the occupational shoe market. Long-wearing comfort, durability and unique style appeal to folks in all walks of life, from doctors and flight attendants to chefs and shop clerks. A physician in New Hampshire considers her Dansko clogs a professional status symbol in her Ivy League medical complex. An orthopedic surgeon at the same hospital regularly sends his patients to the complexs medical bookstore for Dansko clog fittings.

In early June, a teacher stopped by a Dansko educational display and, with a gleam in his eye, pointed to Danskos flagship closed-back clog style, “the Professional,” and declared that after 30 years of teaching, he finally found the most comfortable shoes ever. One nurse at a hospital in Alabama even claims that the shoes polyurethane outsole saved her life when she was struck by lightning outside the emergency room.

The closed-back clog in black and white remains the top seller in the occupational market, but over the years, Cabot has expanded the line to accommodate most foot types and to offer a variety of styles and leathers. Box leather with a thin polyurethane coating is especially popular with chefs because the leather resists grease and acids.

All Danskos, though, incorporate the technology that is responsible for their popularity. Anatomically contoured arch support, a rocker-bottom sole, and a slightly raised heel all work to ease leg and back muscles during long hours of standing or walking. The patented polyurethane outsole offers shock absorbency, stability and support. Full-length sock linings are made of non-allergenic, vegetable-tanned leather, proven most effective for the absorption and evaporation of foot perspiration.

Almost all Dansko styles have received the American Podiatric Medical Associations Seal of Acceptance. In November 2001, approval was granted to all Dansko clog models and to two other lines the company carries: a paddock collection for equestrians and a fashion line built on an outsole similar to the clog. Danskos newest development, a collection of direct-injection sport clogs, is slated for testing in 2002.

A patient, convalescing from Achilles tendon surgery in Evanston, Ill, last February, went to his local shoe store to find a pair of comfortable open-back shoes. The salesman made the unorthodox call of recommending a Dansko Sport Clog. The patient stated, “On the way out [of the shoe store], I was like one of those patients at a religious convention I can walk!!, I can walk!!”

Today the company has over thirty independent sales reps in North America, over a third of whom work exclusively with uniform retailers and catalogs. Dansko attends the Professional Apparel Association show annually and this year also attended the National Restaurant Association show.

Danskos strategy over the years has been to support the independent retailers who helped to build the business from the start. Cabot and her staff work hard to maintain clean distribution and provide quick turnaround. In the past year, the company has targeted specific product and leather selections to specific markets, essentially giving the occupational retailers a “jump” on some new styles. Dansko also has also introduced market-specific marketing materials that simplify the information for each type of retailer and consumer.

“Whatever we do,” says Cabot, “we want to be remembered for doing it really well. Dansko has a great core shoe, but its not for everybody. Thats why weve developed a wide variety of upper styles. Weve added paddock boots for the equestrians, and last year we added Sport Clogs for outdoor enthusiasts. We see potential in the outsole we developed for the outdoor market crossing over to the occupational line, and we plan a product rollout in early 2003. In the meantime, we intend to stick with developing quality products and let someone else focus on quantity. For me, more isnt better; better is better.”

For more information about Dansko, please contact Gwen Livingston, Vice President of Sales, or Catherine Byers, Director of Marketing at 800-dansko-4 (800-326-7564) or visit www.dansko.com.