T he sales staff at New Balance in
Shaker Plaza – specialists in athletic
footwear, foot analysis, sandals, and
shoes in unusual sizes – is trained
to address a multitude of issues,
including bunions, knee pain, and
plantar fasciitis.
“For us, it’s all about the extra
steps. We like to keep up on people,” says
manager-in-training Kayla Klein.
New Balance is a well-known
international brand, but the Shaker Heights
store, a transplant from the former La Place
in Beachwood, isn’t just part of a chain. It’s
locally owned and operated by Fairlawnbased
Lucky Shoes. When the nearly
100-year-old company gathers for meetings
or other events, Klein says, everyone knows
her name.
“We’re really small,” she says. “There’s
more of a sense of community in Shaker
than other places. A lot of people around
here like to shop local, and they don’t always
realize we’re not really corporate-owned.”
One problem, though, remains
vexing for an operation that considers
itself central to the Shaker Heights fitness
scene. After two years in business at
the end of the RTA Blue Line, the store
remains somewhat shrouded behind Van
Aken District construction.
Other New Balance locations are able
to hold events and organize running clubs.
The Shaker store, meanwhile, can’t wait for
the dust to settle, so the staff there can get
down to serving customers the way they
know best.
These are marketing challenges, of
course. The problems Klein and crew really
enjoy solving are podiatric in nature. When
they’re on the clock, they love nothing
more than outfitting people with the exact
right shoe, the footwear that will keep
someone running, speed her up, or alleviate
that nagging pain in her foot or knee.
50 FALL 2018 | WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
Most of these boil down to a misunderstanding. In addition to pronation or supination
– the inward or outward roll of the foot commonly responsible for running injuries – many
people, Klein says, are simply unaware of their feet’s true dimensions. They haven’t been
measured properly in years, or are wearing shoes that only exacerbate their problems.
“You’d be amazed how many people are wearing the wrong shoe, or the wrong size,”
Klein says.
Despite all the construction, Klein says the store has its regular customers and is
prone to surges at unpredictable hours. The store may be a bit hidden, but that isn’t keeping
its devotees from getting fresh pairs of New Balance’s classic walking shoe or browsing the
company’s several lines of high-end running sneakers. Now the store is poised for a surge.
In a short while, the reward for sitting in relative quiet for two years will be a stream of
traffic, courtesy of the new Van Aken District and the active, health-conscious crowd the
area is certain to attract. SL
NEW BALANCE
20140 Van Aken Boulevard
216-464-3477
Website: stores.newbalance.com
NEW BALANCE
Photo courtesy of New Balance
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