Hands-Free Shoe Brand Kizik to Open First Store Near Salt Lake City Next Week
Stephen Garner
Senior Editor
Hands-free footwear company Kizik will open its first brick-and-mortar store in the heart of its home state next week as it continues to gain market share.
According to the Utah-based company, it will open a 1,293-sq.-ft. shop inside the Fashion Place Mall in the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray on Friday, May 19.
Kizik said in a statement on Thursday that the store will offer its full range of men’s, women’s and kids’ shoes in all sizes, as well as new styles launching throughout the year. Additional merchandise including Kizik-branded shirts for the whole family, shoe care kits and no-slip socks will also be available.
Designed by MG2/The Lionesque Group, the store features a 38-foot glass storefront with a “larger-than-life” digital tile screen that will showcase the brand’s signature step-in moments, Kizik said. Customers can also expect to find wall-mounted shelving with a squiggle edge, a nod to the Kizik shoe outsole, and a designated in-store try-on area to test the product.
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Kizik CEO Monte Deere said in a statement that this opening marks a “pivotal moment” for the brand. “To be opening our flagship store right down the street from where it all began is humbling and signals a new chapter for the company,” Deere said. “We’ve seen incredible consumer reception through our e-commerce platform and are excited to provide a point of entry for new adopters of the brand to touch and try on Kizik footwear in a brick-and-mortar setting for the first time.”
To commemorate the grand opening, Utah First Lady Abby Cox will perform the ribbon cutting ceremony on May 19. She’ll be joined by Deere and other members of the Kizik executive team.
This opening marks the first of many for Kizik, which experienced more than 250 percent growth last year and exceeded nine figures in sales.
In July, Kizik first announced this retail rollout as well as a kids’ collection after securing $20 million in series B funding led by The Newcastle Network that closed earlier in 2022. At the time of the announcement, Deere told FN that the company plans to open five stores in 2023 and expects to have between 15 to 20 open by the end of 2024.
The company also made its move into wholesale earlier this spring with Nordstrom. The brand’s adult and kids’ shoes are currently being sold at Nordstrom stores in Lynnwood, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; Oak Brook, Ill.; Scottsdale, Ariz. and Roseville, Calif., as well as online.
Kizik is the successful footwear brand offspring of HandsFree Labs Inc., its parent company that licenses out hands-free footwear technology solutions. HandsFree Labs secured a strategic minority investment from Nike Inc. in November of 2019, when it entered an intellectual property licensing partnership which allows Nike to use its portfolio of hands-free footwear technology. HandsFree Labs also licenses its technology to Original Footwear, which specializes in footwear for military personnel and law enforcement.
