Written by: Angela Velasquez
How do you make an impression in a market inundated with health-benefitting, performance-enhancing promises? Try user-friendly kiosks that scan and produce precise data to tailor footbeds to the wearers unique needs-and get those footbeds to the customer in just a week. Glen Hinshaw, CEO and founder of eSoles, describes it as a concept his company has honed. Collaborations with top physical therapists and biomedical engineers-ones with extensive footwear experience via prior projects with Adidas, Nike plus MLB, NBA and Olympians-have aligned eSoles to become a leader in the science and development of custom footbeds.
"The real magic is in our technology," Hinshaw says. The in-store system-coined 3D TruCapture- uses a tactile pressure mat, air bladder foot receiver, touchscreen monitor and a digital white light scanner to craft one-of-a-kind footbeds to ensure proper body and joint alignment. using the information collected by the 3D TruCapture, consumers can choose the information collected eFit ($69) modular system footbeds (made in-store from a collection of pieces) or further customize their footbeds with ePro ($249) footbeds manufactured on an individual basis.
A former cyclist on the US Postal Service Masters team, Hinshaw has seen plenty of repackaged and retooled footwear fall flat. He describes the Scottsdale, AZ company as just what the market needs "to beak the redundancy in footwear" - not to mention an enticing opportunity for retailers to build their customer database while earning residual income. Retailers are digitally linked to each consumer scanned in their store. If that customer orders additional footbeds down the road, the original retailer will receive a portion of the sale no matter where they are purchased. Hinshaw says it's innovative selling point that complements eSoles' innovative technology, and he anticipates momentum to build stateside-particularly within sports specialty and big-box stores.