Meet Carl, Head of Manufacturing @widewidths.com

 

In the last of our email series about the people behind the WideWidths Brand, we had a conversation with Carl van der Putten, the man at the helm of our manufacturing partner JJ Footwear.

 

Carl followed in the footsteps of this father and grandfather and has been running the family business for over 25 years.  Carl is incredibly proud of the contribution his forefathers made to the Dutch Footwear Industry and is delighted to be able to continue their work and grow the business on an international scale. 

 

We asked him what encouraged him to develop wide calf boots, if he had a favourite design what would it be and what are his biggest challenges in the fast-paced world of the fashion industry.

 

“It was by accident.  In late November 2001, we received a request from a retail customer asking us to develop a knee-high boot with a 20inch circumference. It was late in the season. Production was drawing to a close and we were about to enter the SALE period.  Timing was not great.

 

The customer had a number of stores so we decided we would test the market and created a basic design. We produced 300 pairs.  The boots were on the shelves in the stores at the beginning of December, just as SALE season started.  The boots were priced at a €250.

 

All 300 pairs sold within the first week. We were stunned.

 

The following year we launched our first official collection of Wide Calf Boots in 3 different calf widths and have continued to grow and develop the collection year on year.  We sold in The Netherlands first and then started selling across Europe.  We then collaborated with web shops in the America, Australia and New Zealand.

 

Research showed us that the industry standard works for 50% of the female population. We are delighted to be one of the first manufacturers to work in inclusive fashion.

 

As for favourites, can you have a favourite?  They are like my children I love them all - but differently. If I had to pick one it would be Brora, a high heeled boot.  

I’m told, Brora is so comfortable to wear it feels like you are wearing a flat boot. You can walk for hours in the boot in complete comfort.  Comfort after all is queen - but the benefit of this is it increases the confidence of the woman wearing the boot as they are not compromising on comfort over style.

 

As for challenges, to continually move our brand, our collection and our web shops in the right direction.  Improving everything season in, season out in order to increase consumer satisfaction. Luckily, I have a great team of people around me. We work together to achieve our goals and maintain our values.  We don’t get it right all of the time … but we do our best.  2021 will be an exciting year, we will launch a new collection alongside the JJ Footwear collection – this is called CM Boots and Shoes and provides a whole new width fitting standard which we hope our community with love.”

 

SO….

 

If the industry standard isn’t working for you, contact us at [email protected] and tell us about the issues you have with buying boots.  We offer friendly advice in a warm and kind space.  We’d love to help.

 

AND don’t forget our February promotion of 25% Off is running now !– and we still have Brora in stock -so pick up a deal today and bag yourself a beautiful pair of wide width boots. 

 

We do of course sell the collection all year around, but we will not be replenishing stock until August 2021… so if you have something on your wish list now is the time to buy so please visit www.widewidths.com to see the collection.