Monday, April 28, 2008

Jack Rogers, Steven Salario and Stephen Bonnano .........Oh My!

Recent Outlet Purchase

Steven Salario --Tampa

There has been much debate and discussion in the blog-o-sphere about the difference between these three shoe makers. There was also some pretty heated discussion on the blog Biscuits are Never Boring and I went...wow... lots of bad feelings and opinions out there. I thought I would give my humble thoughts on this subject.

As a business person, the pie that is being fought over is relatively small. Jack Roger posted sales of $1.2 million (I believe US tennis shoe sales are 14.5 billion) and I believe Jack Rogers is the largest seller of these shoes. Jack Rogers seems to be marketing to medium to large retail and Internet stores and is very successful. Dividing 1.2 million by an estimated cost of $20 per shoe, that is 60,000 shoes. There was a great video of with the current president of Jack Rogers Shoes that is great to see (JACK ROGERS INTERVIEW) Based on this video, Jack Roger shoes are produced in the US.

On a recent visit to Tampa, I stopped by the Steven Salario outlet store in Tampa near Hyde Park and had a a lot of fun. Some 8 pairs of shoes later, I am a happy camper. My 11 year old daughter snagged several pairs of $5 dollar sandals and a few pairs of of discounted Navajo patterns as well. Of course I spent full dollar to replace my pink and green Navajo loves. This was such a fun store and a great place to visit. Steven Salario is heading down the retail sales route too and is working on updating their website. I purchased the most adorable pair of hot pink driving moccasin that I think I need to get in every color. Steven Salario is a shoe wholesale company and can be seen in better stores throughout the country including Best Dressed Child.

The Address is:

2810 Long St

Tampa, FL 33605

Stephen Bonanno seems to be the love of the Palm Beach and the blog world, and guess what..... they work hard at it. They have a great website, a fun blog, and a nice store in Palm Beach. They also offer creative ideas for personalization which this is really their specialty. This maker has a boutique, personal feel to selling their shoes.

In spite of the small market size, there is a passion by all these manufacturers and customers to really find out who made the originals. I would like to care about this, but I do not think we will ever know the truth nor am I interested in reading any more debate on the subject. To put this in perspective, we are also not talking about cheap imitations here..the quality is "fairly" consistent across companies and it is purely a matter of personal taste and brand preference.

I just order baby blue patent personalized shoes from Stephen Bonanno. Since I have all three shoe brands I am in good shape.

10 comments:

Tammy B said...

I have several pairs of Jack Rogers' Navajo sandals. Saturday, I ordered my first pair of Stephen Bonanno sandals. I've always heard that Stephen Bonanno is the original. I have never heard of Steven Salario. I may have to check out the site.

Suburban prep said...

I have a great pair that I bought online from Steven Salario. I liked them enough that one of my sisters has the same pair. Now that she lives in South Florida she says she wears them quite often.

Tammy B said...

I forgot to tell you that I saw Nantucket Red Jack Rogers on Murray's website. Have you seen the Jack Rogers-like sandals in the Vera Bradley catalogs?

Sue said...

Great display of shoes. I haven't seen or heard the debates but will run over and check it out. The custom Bonanno's fit my less than dainty feet much better than the JR's and seem to wear better for me too.
Cute post.
Hugs,
Sue

Well I Do Declare said...

Now that you have all 3, which do you like better? I had just posed this question on my blog as I am trying to decide whether to order some Bonanno's (I only have JR).
Thanks!

The 5 Bickies said...

When I posted about this subject on my blog I had no idea the can of worms I was opening! I sure did learn a lot though. I LOVE all the shoes you got at the outlet. I would have loved the $5 bin for my daughter...she is nuts about these shoes too. And she is 4!

Tickled Pink And Green said...

Oh my gosh, I just now saw the comment thread on 5 Bickies blog! Wow! I don't know what to believe. Now I know what you meant when you mentioned that one time.

I think that Jack Rogers basically makes only narrow-ish shoes, and I have wider feet, so I never get the Jacks.

Unknown said...

Has anyone seen the great new python ballet flats from Jack Rogers? Check out the website (www.jackrogersusa.com). They are to die for. I hear they are also coming out with new Collections of Navajos in genuine alligator and shagreen so I'll be keeping my eyes on the website for them. As for the debate about the "original," the Bonannos are cute, but they are not original. The company was started only in the 1990's. Their slim claim to the original is that they're related to folks who had a shoe repair shop and who knew a cobbler that made sandals for Jackie Kennedy. For facts, the Kennedy Museum & Library archives, and their definitive book on Jacqueline Kennedy Style, states she wore Jack Rogers. This was also documented in The Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute Retrospective on Jacqueline Kennedy Style. It's featured in dozens of books too, including Candy Pratts (America's definitive Accessories Editor for Vogue and Style.com) in her magnificent book on iconic American accessories - her book features a great vintage photo of Mrs. Pulitzer in Palm Beach wearing her Jacks. For me, I prefer to go with the great American institute's take on the matter. Jackie Kennedy wore Jacks - the iconic Navajo sandal - all over the world.

preppy little dress AKA "PLD" said...

Old post...I had NO idea there was an SS outlet store in Tampa. I know where I am going in December! Now in 2010, does the outlet store still exist? I hope so! Thanks for sharing!! :) PLD

Got Sole said...

Having worn all three, I have to weigh in on Stephen Bonanno Sandals. The quality and craftsmanship is just unrivaled. I have heard that SS is not making sandals anymore...does anyone know if this is true or not?? Jacks are nice but it seems like they are more into marketing then shoe making now...and they have done a good job. When it comes down to it, in the end, I really don't care about the history or who was the "original". All I care about is getting the best made sandals for the money...hands down it SBS :)