I want to know the percentage distribution for the American ADULT
female population across the range of shoe sizes (American size
system.)

for example size 5= 3%, size 5.5= 4%, size 6= 4.5%....etc  (these
numbers were made up for the example)

---

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 06 Aug 2005 18:51 PDT

Lirpa,

I found a shoe size distribution chart for UK women.

Would this chart serve your purpose?

Thanks,
Bobbie7

---

Clarification of Question by lirpa-ga on 06 Aug 2005 23:20 PDT

Hi,

I already found that on my own.  It was not good enough for my
purposes.  Ideally I would like the distribution for my customer base,
American working women ages 25-50 but I realize that that is an
impossible request so I have settled for an answer for American adult
women in general.  If you think about it, the distribution will be
very different based on the population or sub group. Consider how the
distribution might differ between african americans and asian
americans.

Thanks.

---

Clarification of Question by lirpa-ga on 09 Aug 2005 12:44 PDT

speedomaniac,

Submit it as your answer.  I accept.  I would have preferred more
current data if you can get it as a later comment since population
sizes drift over time.

---

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 12 Aug 2005 08:39 PDT

Hello lirpa-ga,

I?ve had your question locked for the last couple of days because I
have some leads on getting the exact information you need. In your
last clarification you said you would accept the link provided by
speedomaniac, a commentor, but you also said you would like more
current data.

I?m waiting for responses to some messages I?ve sent. In the meantime
I?ve also done some additional research and I?m amazed at how
difficult it is to get solid information for you. One industry expert
indicated that this information is not monitored but I have found some
fairly current articles and reports that have some selective
statistics about current trends in American women?s shoe sizes.

I?m wondering if I could help you with solving your information needs
by taking a different approach. I see that earlier this year you
posted a question asking for consultants who ?must be experienced in
and understand the manufacturing of ladies dress shoes from soup to
nuts.? I?m guessing that you didn?t because I would expect that such
an expert would have information about the size distribution in order
to determine how many shoes to manufacture in each size.

Can you give me additional information on how you plan to use the size
distribution information? The more I know about the problem you?re
trying to solve, the more likely I will be able to get you the
information you need. I look forward to your clarification.

~ czh ~

---

Clarification of Question by lirpa-ga on 12 Aug 2005 16:52 PDT

Hello CZH,

I have never done a question all the way to completion before and do
not understand why speedmaniac hasn't submitted the answer he/she
found as an answer rather than a comment since as I stated in a
comment that I accept it even though it is not entirely ideal.

You are correct that shoe sizes are increasing, thus more current but
similar data would be more desirable.

To answer your question, I am about to start manufacturing women's
high heel shoes for the US market and wish to know as accurately what
size mix to create.  Stores often purchase in a particular size mix by
the case but since I will sell primarily through my own web site to
end users, I want the size distribution that reflects the current
population.

Thanks.

---

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 12 Aug 2005 17:27 PDT

Hello lirpa-ga,

You can differentiate between researchers and commentors (like
speedomaniac-ga) by noting that researcher names are in blue and are
"clickable" so you can see a history of all the questions they've
answered while the commentor names are in black and can't be linked.
Sometimes commentors will provide useful information or a complete
answer. In such a case, the customer gets a freebie. It might be
helpful for you to review the Google Answer FAQ to get more detailed
information about this.

https://answers.google.com/answers/faq.html
https://answers.google.com/answers/faq.html#aboutcomments

Since you indicated that you were still hoping for a more complete
answer I've continued the research. I've contacted several
organizations that should have the information you want and I hope
they'll respond by early next week. I've also found some less than
complete statistics about size distribution that might still be
helpful to you. I hope that I will be able to provide you with
information that will assist you with developing an appropriate size
mix.

More soon.

~ czh ~

Hello again lirpa-ga,

I think I?ve found the organization that you should contact to get the
exact information you?re looking for.

You indicated in your earlier clarification that the table in the
citation by speedomaniac-ga was sufficient but that you would like
more up-to-date information. I?ve tracked down the organization that
was the source of the table and they?ve confirmed that they could
provide you with more current information for a fee.

Footwear Impression Evidence: Detection, Recovery and Examination is a
textbook. The source of the table in Figure 6.10 was Footwear Market
Insights. My research revealed that Footwear Market Insights was
acquired in 2001 by NPD ShoeBiz, ?the footwear tracking unit of The
NPD Group, Inc.? Further searching revealed that Marshal Cohen of NPD
Fashionworld was one of the authorities regularly quoted in the trade
press on all the articles I found on the subject of shoe sizing. I
continued my search and finally located the contact person for NPD?s
Fashion Footwear services.

This morning I got an answer to my inquiry as follows:

-------------------------------------------------
From:        Julie McBride [Julie_McBride@npd.com]
Sent:        Mon 8/15/2005 12:16 PM
Subject: RE: Information about women's fashion shoes

I was able to view the page this time, thank you. We will be able to
replicate this chart for you, we just first need to cover a few
things.

We are assuming you want to look at Women's Fashion Footwear only, not
including any Athletic Footwear. Please confirm.

Since you have not indicated a time period, we would recommend 12
Months Ending July 2005, our most recent data. This will give you a
full 12 months of data. Please let us know if you/your client are
comfortable with this.

Our panel is a U.S. panel only, but we can certainly break out
specific ethnic groups within the U.S. in addition to the Total -
White, Black, Hispanic, Asian and Other. The sample size for some of
the ethnic groups will be low, so we will only be able to deliver %
for the groups, but will give you total shoes sold and % for the
Total.

The fee for running this data will be $1,750. If you would like us to
proceed, pleas reply to these outstanding questions. Thank you.

Julie
-------------------------------------------------



In an earlier e-mail Julie had said: 

?There will most likely be a fee involved with sharing this, and it
will depend on how much information you are looking for. However, if
you can indicate who your client is, and they are a client of ours as
well, they may be entitled to this information for free.?


I don?t know if you?re familiar with NPD and their services and
whether you are a member. If not, I suggest that you review their
website and then contact them for whatever information you need. It
seems that they will be able to provide some information from
completed research and if you need specialized research they will be
able to furnish it for an agreed upon fee.

Here are the contacts for NPD:

NPD Fashionworld
Via e-mail: contactus@npd.com
Phone: 516-625-2276 
900 West Shore Road
Port Washington, NY 11050

For more information about NPD?s Fashion Footwear services, contact
Nancy VanPatten at (516) 625-2407 or by e-mail at
nancy_vanpatten@npd.com.

Julie McBride [Julie_McBride@npd.com]


I also identified several trade associations and other organizations
for the footwear/shoe industry and I still have several requests for
information awaiting responses from them. I will post these as they
come in. I?ve also included links so that you can approach them
directly.

As I said earlier, I found a few articles discussing the difficulties
of finding up-to-date information about the distribution of women?s
shoe sizes. I?ve included all the articles that have some relevant
information for whatever help they might provide.

I hope that NPD will be able to help you with your project. Please
don?t hesitate to ask for clarification if anything I?ve provided is
confusing.

Best wishes for your enterprise.

~ czh ~


========================================
THE BOOK -- FOOTWEAR IMPRESSION EVIDENCE 
========================================

http://print.google.com/print?id=xLVUjzkK3rgC&pg=PA191&lpg=PA191&dq=191&prev=http://print.google.com/print%3Fie%3DUTF-8%26q%3DThe%2BProfessional%2B%2522Shoe%2BFitting%2522&sig=asPShS7HyeGpZ-jWulrJSJIZh8E
Figure 6.10 Courtesy of Footwear Market Insights

------------------------

http://www.bodziak.com/pages/824690/index.htm
FOOTWEAR IMPRESSION EVIDENCE: Detection, Recovery and Examination
ISBN: 0849310458
by William J. Bodziak

------------------------

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=+ISBN:+0849310458&num=100&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=ff&oi=froogler

------------------------

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0849310458/104-2880084-2022313?v=glance

***** This book was the source for the Table that you said had the
information you?re looking for. It led to Footwear Market Insights as
the source.


========================
FOOTWEAR MARKET INSIGHTS
========================

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2001/01/01/daily3.html
January 2, 2001
Footwear Market Insights acquired

Nashville-based Footwear Market Insights announced its acquisition by
NPD ShoeBiz, the footwear tracking unit of The NPD Group Inc. Footwear
Market Insights is a syndicated consumer purchase information company.
Also, Footwear Market Insights announced that CEO Michael J. Kormos
will join NPD ShoeBiz. NPD ShoeBiz combines retail point-of-sale
tracking and online consumer surveys to identify consumer trends.


===================
NPD GROUP WORLDWIDE
===================

http://www.npd.com/corp/content/about/ab_offices.htm
The NPD Group Worldwide

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.npdfashionworld.com/fashionServlet?nextpage=contact_us.html
Contact NPD Fashionworld

Via e-mail: contactus@npd.com
Phone: 516-625-2276 
900 West Shore Road
Port Washington, NY 11050

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.npd.com/corp/content/foot/ft_fashion.htm
NPD ShoeBiz® - Fashion Footwear

NPD ShoeBiz® offers the only service available for the footwear
industry that links point-of-sale (POS) data with consumer
demographics and purchasing behavior, bringing you detailed
deliverables to help your sales and product development teams.

For more information about NPD?s Fashion Footwear services, contact
Nancy VanPatten at (516) 625-2407 or by e-mail at
nancy_vanpatten@npd.com.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.npd.com/fashionreports/men_women_channel_focus.html
http://www.npd.com/fashionreports/pdf/Fash_Ftwr_chan_focus.pdf
NPD Channel Focus 2005:  Men?s and Women?s Footwear 

This report reveals consumers? footwear shopping preferences,
providing details unavailable from any other information source.
You?ll learn where consumers shop and why, consumers? price
orientation, footwear purchase influences, attitudes about footwear
retailers and much more ? all the information you need to answer your
critical business questions. This exclusive report presents a complete
view of the footwear market from the consumer perspective, including
both attitudes and behaviors. Insights include; retailers shopped for
footwear over the past 12 months; average prices paid in particular
retailers/channels; maximum prices consumers are willing to pay; and
cross-retailer/channel shopping within athletic, casual and dress
segments. The report is based on an attitudinal survey administered to
nationally representative samples of men and women aged 13+. Responses
from nearly 2,000 men and 2,000 women, distributed across three
footwear categories, contributed to the report.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.npd.com/fashionreports/women_footwear.html
NPD Brand Focus: Women?s Footwear

This report provides a complete picture of the women?s footwear market
from the consumer perspective, including both attitudes and behavior.
It provides details on consumers? perceptions of 120 key women?s
footwear brands, providing a level of detail unavailable anywhere
else. The report examines such important issues as the most recognized
brands in women?s footwear, brand loyalty, future purchase intent
regarding specific brands, consumers? brand classifications (trendy,
popular, classic, urban, etc.) and brands female consumers consider to
be today?s hottest names in footwear. The Women?s Footwear report
helps footwear manufacturers and retailers understand category
purchase dynamics, profile target buyer groups and compare relative
performance of specific brands against competitors.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.npd.com/fashionreports/womens_total_footwear.html
NPD Channel Focus: Women?s Total Footwear

This report reveals consumers? footwear shopping preferences,
providing details about brand loyalty, store loyalty, consumers? price
orientation, footwear purchase influences, time spent shopping for
footwear and much more. It examines the women?s footwear marketplace
from the consumer perspective to provide a clear picture of the
attitudes and behaviors that matter to footwear marketers. Important
topics addressed by the report include planned footwear spending over
the next 12 months, average prices paid for footwear in particular
channels and maximum prices consumers are willing to pay for women?s
athletic, casual and dress shoes. It also includes invaluable,
verbatim quotes from consumers, telling you why they prefer certain
women?s footwear retailers and brands.



===============================================================
FOOTWEAR AND SHOEMAKING INDUSTRY -- ORGANIZATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS
===============================================================

http://www.nsra.org/
National Shoe Retailers Association

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.fdra.org/
FOOTWEAR DISTRIBUTORS AND RETAILERS OF AMERICA

Peter Mangione  ptmangione@fdra.org 
President
Lisa Proctor  lproctor@fdra.org	
Executive Administrative Assistant/Webmaster
Faith Lewis  flewis@fdra.org	
Statistical Services
Tiffany Haynes  thaynes@fdra.org	
Communications Coordinator

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.hi-tec.com/content.php?page=technologies&section=Technologies&article=15
The Shoe and Allied Trade Research Association (SATRA)

-------------------------------------------------


http://apparelandfootwear.org/working/4col.cfm?pageID=174
American Apparel & Footwear Association ? 
1601 N. Kent Street ? Suite 1200 ? 
Arlington, VA 22209 
(P): 703-524-1864 800-520-2262 ? 
(F): 703-522-6741

------------------------

http://apparelandfootwear.org/working/4col.cfm?pageID=174
Footwear
Fawn Evenson
Fawn Evenson
703.797.9056
fevenson@apparelandfootwear.org



===================================================
FOOTWEAR SIZING -- ARTICLES AND GENERAL INFORMATION
===================================================

http://www.dh.aist.go.jp/research/foot/distribut.html.en
Distribution of Foot Dimensions
?Japanese Page?

***** This website offers some interesting graphs along with the
discussion of foot measurements.

-------------------------------------------------


http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2005-03-01/bradley-bigfeet
Finding shoes to fit big feet

***** No sizing distribution information but some interesting
statistics about sizing.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.temple.edu/news_media/sop0408_04.html
Posted on Wed, Aug. 04, 2004
Pump 'em up

Shoemakers aren't keeping pace with their customers' need for bigger sizes.
BY EMILY CHASAN
Wall Street Journal

Retailers, looking for the biggest return on inventory, typically
focus on average sizes, 7 to 9. "A few years ago, a lot of stores only
went up to size 10," says Bill Boettge, president of the National Shoe
Retailers Association. While more stores these days sell size 11s,
Boettge estimates only 2 percent of sales are basic styles sold to
women wearing size 12 or above - a group that may make up 4 percent or
more of the population. But that is just a guess: No one tracks shoe
sizes.

***** This article is filled with women?s shoe size statistics but it
doesn?t provide a distribution table.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.npdfashionworld.com/fashionServlet?nextpage=pr_body.html&content_id=2122
NPD REPORTS WOMEN'S FANCY FOOTWEAR IS IN, PLAIN FOOTWEAR IS OUT 
Details Make a Difference in Sales

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, April 4, 2005 ? Dressing up dress shoes
helped the women?s fashion shoe industry strut its stuff in 2004.
According to The NPD Group, a leading sales and marketing information
company, women?s dress footwear generated $3 billion in 2004, almost a
26 percent increase from 2003.

"And there is no sign of it slowing down," said Marshal Cohen, chief
industry analyst, The NPD Group. "The consumer?s interest in plain
footwear is decreasing rapidly and the real focus is on the details.
Whether it?s a buckle, a bow or a button, decorative ornaments and
embellishments are hot in today?s women?s fashion footwear arena,"
said Cohen.

***** This article discusses the latest trends in women?s shoes.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.npdinsights.com/corp/enewsletter/html/archives/May2005/my_favorites.html
May 2005 Issue 32
This installment of ?My Favorites? contributed by
Nancy Van Patten, Director, Footwear & Sports Apparel


============================================
FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY -- MARKET RESEARCH REPORTS
============================================

http://www.hoovers.com/footwear/--HICID__1164--/free-ind-factsheet.xhtml
Footwear
Companies that design, manufacture, market, and/or license brands for
men's, women's, and/or children's footwear.

Buy Reports and Books

Footwear: Financial Analysis Profiles
(BizMiner, May 31, 2005, Business Reports)

Footwear Manufacturing in the US
(IBISWorld, Apr 16, 2005, Business Reports)

Freedonia Focus on Athletic Footwear
(Freedonia Group, Inc., Apr 1, 2005, Business Reports)

Footwear: Marketing Research Profiles
(BizMiner, May 31, 2005, Business Reports)

Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing in the US
(IBISWorld, Mar 6, 2005, Business Reports)

Freedonia Focus on Footwear
(Freedonia Group, Inc., Apr 1, 2005, Business Reports)

Other Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing in the US
(IBISWorld, Apr 19, 2005, Business Reports)



=====================================
FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY ? GENERAL RESOURCES
=====================================

http://www.USMGROUP.COM
British United Shoe Machinery Ltd.

British United Shoe Machinery Limited (BUSM) and Shoemat Limited
merged their businesses on 7 October 2003. The new combined Group
encompasses a complete range of products for the shoemaker, including
machinery, CAD/CAM, spare parts, service, accessories, adhesives,
tacks and nails, toe puffs and counters, rib, resin, insole materials,
insole strips, insoles, leather, leatherboard, fibreboard and coated
products.


------------------------

http://www.shoemaking.com/
***** This site is part of the usmgroup.com sites. It offers some
general information that might be useful even though the site is no
longer updated.

-------------------------------------------------


http://podiatry.curtin.edu.au/shoo.html#eve
The History of Shoes: Shoe Making 
Cameron Kippen, Curtin University of Technology, Perth WA

http://podiatry.curtin.edu.au/internet.html#cyber
Footwear 

***** This site from Professor Cameron Kippen at Curtin University of
Technology, Perth, Australia provides an incredible collection of
links on every aspect of shoemaking and footwear. Browse through it to
see if there?s something useful for your project.



===============
SEARCH STRATEGY
===============

footwear sizing distribution
footwear OR shoe sizing distribution
"Distribution of Foot Dimensions"
foot OR shoe size OR dimension
Marshal Cohen, senior analyst for the NPD Group
"Marshal OR Marshall Cohen" npd

---

Request for Answer Clarification by lirpa-ga on 16 Aug 2005 05:51 PDT

Dear CZH,

You have provided a large and well organized amount of links to
information but you have not answered my question.  Speadmaniac
provided on 8/9 the very size distribution specifically asked for in
my question.  In my comment to you on 8/12 I expressed interest in
more current similar data but said that what Speadmaniac provided was
acceptable.

As for NPD, I am very familar with them.  Typically it costs
$5,000/year to be a member or perhaps $1750 for a single limited
report.  Offering me the oppotunity to get the current size
distribution from NPD for an expensive fee is not what I had in mind. 
Can you answer my question as Speedmaniac did but with more current
data?  It is obvious that you worked very hard but so far you have
missed the mark so far.

Thank you,

lirpa-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by czh-ga on 16 Aug 2005 15:14 PDT

Hello lirpa-ga,

I?m surprised at your feedback since I explained in my earlier
clarification that the additional information I would provide would
help you understand industry trends and would be documented with
selective up-to-date statistics about the women?s fashion shoe market.
As far as getting the updated table, I provided you with information
about where you could get one for a fee. This information is not
tracked for the industry as individual companies have their own sales
record databases. It seems to me the best approach for you might be to
contact some large retailers and see if they would be willing to share
the information with you.

I wish you had shared that you already knew about NPD instead of
presenting yourself as a naïve newcomer to the shoe industry. As
you?ve stated in your clarification, they are the specialists in
footwear market data. Market data is also available from several
expensive market research reports. I provided you with links to these.
As you can see, information about the women?s shoe market is very
closely held.

As I understand it, your challenge is to develop the proper size mix
for your target market of American women aged 25-50. The 1998 Footwear
Market Insights report is the most up-to-date size distribution chart
that?s available for free. This information is not tracked or updated
by anyone in the industry on a national aggregate basis.

I contacted several retailers about how they develop their size
distribution models and I found out that it?s a very inexact process.
Large retailers like Nordstroms or the various shoe store chains all
have their own centralized database for tracking what sells. They are
not willing to reveal how they aggregate the information from
individual stores into local, regional and national size distribution
charts. Judgments about what sizes to order in what quantity are based
on what sold last year. This information is combined with information
about fashion trends and market research information to develop a
marketing plan.

The marketing plan determines the target groups for the footwear and
this information is translated into size distribution projections.
Understanding market segments is important because niche markets must
be targeted correctly. In your case, saying that you want to market
high heeled dress shoes to women aged 25-50 is too broad a category.
Are you going to be selling to the Sex in the City women or soccer
moms? They?re the same age group. Even the assumption that high heeled
shoes are currently desirable needs to be validated and the target
market identified.

There are many niche markets that might be a better bet than trying to
cover all sizes. Asian women have smaller feet. You could identify
ways to reach them. Women who are athletic and sports minded tend to
have larger feet. You could look for ways to market to them.

In my conversations with retailers I also discovered that there is a
discrepancy between women?s foot sizes and the sizes they buy because
women frequently squeeze themselves into shoes that are too small.

I looked at the context of your question, not just he specific query
and I thought that in our several exchanges in the clarification
process you indicated that you wanted information that would help you
with launching your venture in addition to the size distribution table
that was provided by the commentor. You could have closed your
question if that was all you wanted. Since you didn?t, I thought you
had given me the go-ahead to pursue the research track I proposed. I
believe the information I provided is relevant and on-point.

I?m providing you with some additional information about size trends
in the women?s shoes market to help you with determining the
appropriate size mix for your venture.

Best wishes for your future website.

~ czh ~



http://www.temple.edu/news_media/sop0408_04.html
Aug. 04, 2004
Pump 'em up -- Shoemakers aren't keeping pace with their customers'
need for bigger sizes.
Wall Street Journal

***** This article provides an excellent discussion of the problems of
finding an appropriate size distribution mix.

-------------------------------------------------


http://slate.msn.com/id/2065546/
The relentless march upward of the American shoe size.
May 10, 2002, at 8:06 AM PT

For regular stores, the standard 5 to 10 size range becomes a
self-fulfilling prophecy; they don't stock many so-called plus sizes,
so big-footed people learn not to endure the humiliation of shopping
there, which means that the stores can say there's no demand.

***** This article discusses the problem of basing your stocking mix
on past history.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/adtrack/2005-08-07-dsw_x.htm
8/7/2005
DSW ads focus on 'primal' shoe hunt

Women's zeal for shoes has retailers kicking up their heels lately.
Women's fashion footwear sales are up nearly 5% to $16.4 billion for
the 12 months ended in June, says NPD. ? "Department stores, specialty
stores and shoe store chains like DSW are changing the dynamics
tremendously," says Cohen. On average, women spend about $277 annually
on shoes, he says.

***** This article discusses current trends in the women?s shoe market.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.pollyfrost.com/feet.html
Me and My Big Feet

"The younger the women, the bigger the average size," he says.
"Between the ages of 35 and 55, the average size is seven,
seven-and-a-half, while in the age group 18 t0 30, it's eight to
eight-and-a-half." His assertion is confirmed by Hiram Chirel,
president of the new York State Podiatric Medical Association.
"There's no question that women's feet are getting longer," he says.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.bussbuss.com/bussbuss_articles/articles/000134.shtml
Don't Be a Heel

Eighty-two percent of women report having foot pain, while 72 percent
report one or more foot deformities. There?s always been a stigma
against women having big feet -- smaller feet have a reputation for
being sexier and more alluring. Perhaps that explains why women who
wear size 8 or larger have more pain and deformities than women with
more petite feet. A whopping 90 percent of women wear shoes one or two
sizes too small. What?s causing women to squeeze into shoes that just
don?t fit? Lack of knowledge mainly.

The American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society reports that 75 percent
of women neglected to have their foot measured in more than 5 years
and, when measured, 60 percent noted that their size had increased.
And, just like with clothing, you shouldn?t select a shoe by size
alone. A size 10 in one brand or style may be smaller or larger than
the same size in another brand or style. So buying those irresistible
stilettos online might be worth resisting, after all.

-------------------------------------------------

http://www.bplans.com/spv/3442/
Shoes - Women's ? Retail Marketing Plan

---

Request for Answer Clarification by lirpa-ga on 16 Aug 2005 20:50 PDT

Dear CZH,

You are obviously a very competant researcher who worked very hard on
this but you did not answer my question.  As I pointed out on 8/12,
speedmaniac gave me an accepable answer to my question although I
would have preferred the same data from more recent years since we all
know that foot sizes are increasing.  While I appreciate you directing
me to NPD, I already know them well and they charge ~$5,000 per year
for membership and as you noted, $1750 for a single report of the
current version of the data I am seeking.  Obviously, I have no
interest in paying them $1750 and offering me that is not an answer to
my question.  The rest of your information is interesting but known by
me and not germane to the very specific information asked for in my
question.  I thank you for your effort but unless you can provide the
distribution that speedmaniac offered but in more current years, you
have not met the task.

Thank you,

lirpa

---

Request for Answer Clarification by lirpa-ga on 16 Aug 2005 21:04 PDT

Dear CZH,

I just noted your 1st reply for clarification.  I am puzzled about
your assumption that I am a newcomer to footwear but regardless, my
question was quite specific and was specifically and correctly
answered by speedmaniac before you.  When I wrote you the 1st comment
I stated... "You are correct that shoe sizes are increasing, thus more
current but similar data (as given by speedmaniac) would be more
desirable."  The closest you have come to that is offering a
consulting firm known by me where I could spend $1,750 to buy it. 
That is not the same as giving providing me the data.  For that I was
willing to pay $100.  As you can see in my 1st comment to speedmaniac
who I mistakingly took to be a researcher, I accepted his/her
clarification and asked that it be submitted as the answer.

Because you locked up my question for days, I was locked out of closing it.

Good luck with your future work.  I hope that you will understand that
I will dispute this.

lirpa

---

Clarification of Answer by czh-ga on 18 Aug 2005 10:34 PDT

Hello again lirpa-ga,

Thank you for your patience. My response was delayed because I had to
go out of town to take care of a family emergency.

I?ve gotten an answer from Fawn Evenson of the American Apparel &
Footwear Association. (703-797-9056 ? fevenson@apparelandfootwear.org)

?We don't have any of this.  NPD has whatever Footwear Market Insights
had when it got bought.?

I asked her for other possible sources and she responded:

?There are two associations representing footwear retailers who might
be interested in helping although I don't think that either tracks
actual size distribution.

National Shoe  Retailers Association--small independent retailers --
Bill Boettge 800 673 8446

Footwear Distributors and Retailers Association -- large mass
marketers--Peter Mangione  202 737 5660?

I?ve left messages to both of them and will post their answers when
they respond. You might get better results by calling them yourself.

I also have a couple of additional requests out to some large
retailers. Again, I will post their answers when I receive them.

Based on our clarifications back and forth, I thought that the
information about distribution of footwear sizing was the most obvious
way to get a some aspects of your target market. I pointed out that
this might not be available and proposed getting other information to
help you in addition to the table that I had already found before
speedomaniac-ga had posted his comment. I undertook further research
because I thought you had given the go ahead.

It seems that the information you?re looking for is not available on
the open web. Whenever this is the case, I think it?s important to
understand why not. My further research revealed that the industry
does not track this information in the national aggregate. This leads
me to believe that they don?t consider it important for targeting
their markets. I then examined what issues are researched and tracked
and provided you with links to the expensive market research reports
and commentary from the trade press. I believe these address your
underlying needs about figuring out shoe size distribution because you
want to sell high heeled dress shoes to 25-50 year old women.

I will post the additional information as the responses come in to my
outstanding requests for information.

All the best.

~ czh ~

My question was answered in a comment by a registered user for free. I
asked that user to submit it as an answer so I could pay him, not
understanding that he was not a researcher. Subsequently, a researcher
locked my question for many days--much more than is proper-- and began
to submit comments.  Ultimately he/she submitted many links and other
information but did not answer my specific question other than
directing me to contact a consulting firm who would answer it for
$1,750.  See the string of comments that support my claims.

Footwear Impression Evidence  
by William J Bodziak
accessible on google print

(from footwear market insights
april 1998 sold shoes)

http://print.google.com/print?id=xLVUjzkK3rgC&pg=PA191&lpg=PA191&dq=191&prev=http://print.google.com/print%3Fie%3DUTF-8%26q%3DThe%2BProfessional%2B%2522Shoe%2BFitting%2522&sig=asPShS7HyeGpZ-jWulrJSJIZh8E




Bibliographic information

Title Footwear Impression Evidence 
Author(s) William J Bodziak 
Publisher CRC Press 
Publication Date September 17, 1999 
Subject Legal Reference / Law Profession 
Format Hardcover 
Pages 497 
Dimensions 7.46 x 10.32 x 1.32 in 
ISBN 0849310458 


please tell me if it would suit you

patrick

i realized that to access google print you need to sign in
if you want i can send you a screen shot if you provide an email

hi both of you,
first of all I wanted to congatulate czh for taking a week to find
that an organization will ask you thousand of dollars to answer your
question were you want to put 100 dollars.
by the way he or she also took a week to copy paste the link to 
Footwear Impression Evidence   and to tell you wear you can buy which
is ridiculous since all those info are on google print page
"Buy this Book 

  CRC Press
Amazon.com
Barnes&Noble.com
BookSense.com
Froogle"

also some pieces of info
hi lirpa
i take the chance to answer you here about shoes market .
the average shoe size of ladies and the hole distribution has been
increasing by about half asize every ten years for the last century.
it should keep on increasing
concerning the asian americans, two situtations.
A/ if they grew in asia the average and distibution is shifted to
smaller sizes on average 1 and 1/2 size if they grew up in america the
difference is about half.
B/ concerning afro american they have an average shoe size pretty
similar(may be one point bigger), but a wider distribution. higher
frequencies of the extremes.

your interesting question has been blocked by the researcher for too long.
let us know if it is what you would excpect from this service.
 
Subject: Re: In search of a list of 10 shoe design/manufacturing consultants 
From: speedomaniac-ga on 12 Aug 2005 09:48 PDT     
"No one is entirely sure why feet are expanding, but they are. The
average women?s shoe sold last year, a size 8.5, was nearly double the
typical 4.5 sold in 1900, and a full size bigger than the average sold
a generation ago."
 
Subject: Re: In search of a list of 10 shoe design/manufacturing consultants 
From: speedomaniac-ga on 12 Aug 2005 09:59 PDT     
in 2015 the extremely high lady shoe sizes ("12 or more")market  will
increase by  more than 300% going from 1.3% of the lady shoes market
to around 5%.

in contrast small size should dicrease but will probably soon be
merged woth the girls market.
 


i think to question are obvious
the half a size questions and the long feet one

very good luck

czh
i think your job is good but you locked the question too long to my
view. anyway this is exhaustive and nicely organised .
but compare to my answer from 09 Aug 2005 09:06 PDT  you added little
practical things.

Lirpa,
Since you will be producing high heeled shoes, I wonder if you  - or
the sources mentioned -  have considered that women with larger feet
are probably taller and hence less likely to buy shoes with heels as
high as those that not so tall women would.  For example, the
distribution for 4 inch spikes might be different from that for pumps.
Sorry to throw this into what is already a difficult question, but it
seems that it could be significant.
Myoarin

I am happy to have provided you the response to your question ( for
free)by the way it took me 15 minutes and google print was a nice try.
If I found more recent data I will post them to you as a comment.
Since I cannot take money from you , just send me a 10 1/2 male shoe
pairs in brown

speedomaniac
100 dream boulevard
wonderland
:-)