Fab Footwear:
Salt-Water Sandals hits stores and shores
American heritage brand Salt-Water Sandals is now in Singapore – great news for lovers or comfortable footwear! We caught up with the CEO of the brand, RACHAEL LAINÉ, to find out why she’s excited about the reception to these stylish yet durable sandals. Tell us about yourself; when did you move to Singapore?
I’m a Londoner who spent 24 years growing up in Hong Kong before moving around the world as an adult. I’ve worked in Hong Kong, Australia and the UK before moving back to Singapore with my family in August 2019. A year before we moved, my husband started working with me as the Director of Operations. He’d always been my sounding board, but as business abroad ramped up post-Brexit, I needed more support as we expanded to three companies and four warehouses.
We have all managed to fall in love with the island and its food and wildlife, and my kids have really taken to an outdoors life after the chillier North London experience of their childhood.
How did you get started with Salt-Water Sandals?
I spotted Salt-Water when I was on maternity leave with my second child. I was scrolling mummy blogs at midnight and saw them written about on a blog being published out of Brooklyn, NYC.
My professional background is in marketing – in particular, specialising in brand launch communications – and I immediately saw their potential. I tried to get a US retailer to send them to the UK and ended up having my sister ship some from Miami to New York. Finally, she brought them home to me in her hand luggage. As soon as I tried them on, with my daughter wearing a tiny size-18 first-walker pair, I could see how well they would do outside the US market.
I wrote them a proposal in the summer of 2010 and the rest is history!
What kind of sandals are available in the range? Are they all purely casual styles, or are there smart-casual options too?
We like to think there is a sandal for everyone in our range. We sell to all kinds of people, young and old. For instance, we have those customers who favour the classic tan, whilst others dress it up in a metallic pewter or rose gold. We have shiny patent juicyfruit colours for a vibrant full stop to your outfit. And then there are the standard white, black and traditional burgundy claret.
The one thing we don’t do is high-heeled sandals. Our designs are all traditional flat sandals made from the 1940s – that’s what we do best. You can wear them cycling your bike in the rain or dressed up with a long maxi dress for poolside cocktails.
Do you cater only to women? Tell us a bit about the size range.
We sell women’s and kids’ sandals. In fact, the kids’ sandals came first – that’s how the business was born. The first pair were made for the owners’ daughter out of scrap leather from a factory floor during the Second World War. Only in later years did they scale up the kids’ designs to include larger versions for mums.
When I first started selling, there was only one design for ladies; now there are six, and we are launching another two this summer. We sell from baby size EU17 all the way up to EU42. My next plan is to get some sandals upsized for the men!
What are the plans for Salt-Water Sandals in Singapore in terms of retailing and expansion?
We’ve been selling online and through a concession in Tanglin Mall at Firefly. However, we’ll be moving on from that popup – we wanted to gauge the reaction first, and the demand is certainly there!
We have also teamed up with Singapore’s super-stylist influencer Sherlyn Chan (instagram.com/sherlynchanwp); she is selling the sandals really well via her store, A Greener Wood. They launched in the same week Sherlyn had her second baby and she was quite overwhelmed at the response! She sold out in under two days; so we’re looking at expanding our range with her.
Recently, we were delighted to be approached by Takashimaya and will be exclusively featuring in the department store in two separate areas: we’ll have a dedicated brand space in the shoe department on the second floor; and we’ll also be the sole footwear brand in a new concept area on the third floor.
We’re also discussing Asian expansion with a few partners; ideally, we want our own store, but selling online and having special relationships with others is what works for now. We offer free shipping island-wide and when we do launch our own store, it will be an expanded concept store – so keep your eyes peeled!