How important are outdoor shoes for the children’s shoe trade?

Bazna also sees a need for weatherproof everyday shoes, particularly because of the forest kindergarten trend: “For forest kindergartens and forest walks, shoes with high shafts are in demand. But they also work well as normal autumn shoes.” Philipp Penschek’s customers like to see robust shoes from children’s shoe suppliers as an alternative when the price is important: “They weigh up whether they really need a pair of hiking shoes for 100 euros or more, or whether a classic children’s shoe also meets the ‘hiking requirement’ and is then 20 to 30 euros cheaper – because of the high retail price, even in kindergarten sizes, we now do not buy warm-lined shoes from hiking shoe manufacturers.” Monika Elles rarely has long discussions about price. On the other hand, parents sometimes come to her shop who have bought cheap outdoor shoes and do not want to repeat the mistake: “When it comes to shoes, parents are also willing to pay more because they know that it makes a difference. Parents in particular, who have tried out cheap hiking boots, then return to the established brands.” The Little Shoe takes the outdoor theme even further: “We offer functional clothing, gloves and hats that work well because they are often worn with the shoes. But the theme is now so established that some people come to us for the textiles.”