Brookfield-based Stan’s Fit For Your Feet recently acquired Waxberg’s Walk Shoppe in Niles, Illinois, marking the business’ first step outside the greater Milwaukee market. Both brands share similar values and histories as third-generation, family-owned footwear retailers, which is why Stan’s president and CEO Jim Sajdak saw Waxberg’s as a natural “fit” for Stan’s current footprint of six brick-and-mortar locations and e-commerce operation. As a nod to the Waxberg family’s legacy and decades-long investment in the Niles community, the store will continue operating under its existing brand name. In an interview with BizTimes associate editor Maredithe Meyer, Sadjak discussed the deal and what out-of-state expansion means for Stan’s.
How did this deal come about?
“I’ve known the owner, Ron Waxberg, for a long time. When it was time for him to make that decision, he gave me a call, we started talking, and the whole thing came together. It was a relationship type of situation. …
“There’s not many of us independent shoe stores left that serve specific needs of their customers. We’re sit-and-fit, so we work one-on-one with our customer throughout the whole transaction. We carry, as Waxberg’s does, a huge range of sizes from a medium width to a 6E wide, which is almost unheard of. So now, we have the ability to provide that footwear together.”
Integrating two brands
“Waxberg’s has a heritage of 102 years. People know of them, and we respect that. I think that’s an important attribute to that store. I think we’ll integrate some of our best practices and marketing; we’ll be integrating maybe a more diverse product line, but all in keeping with our joint philosophies. I think there’s an opportunity to share what has been successful for us here over 72 years and combine that with what they do and what they have done.
“When you take over any business, or even in your current business, you’ve got to do whatever you can do to feed it with product, with marketing to continue to make it grow. … You don’t buy things to stay static.”
On entering a new market
“We have a great team at Waxberg’s, so we’re confident they can handle the day-to-day. And someone from our management team is down there at least two to three times a week. I think that’s important for direction, for evaluating the needs and just having our ear to the ground in a new market. … We’ve built our model and our business to accommodate multiple stores whether they’re 20 minutes away from each other or an hour and 10 minutes away, as Waxberg’s is from our Greenfield store. It’s very doable for us.”
Future growth potential
“We’re always looking for the right opportunity. We’re patient, we’re conservative, and in today’s market you have to be very strategic. So, whether it’s expansion or acquisition, the timing has to be right, and the location has to be right. In the case of an acquisition, their business philosophy and merchandise has to be fitting with what we do.”
