Kiwi Footwear Manufacturer Celebrates 60 Years
With New Zealand Fashion Week in ‘full swing’, kiwi company Kumfs today celebrated a milestone birthday marking 60 years of making women’s shoes.
Founded in the 1940s by podiatrists Mervyn Adams and the late David Robertson, Kumfs has grown rapidly over the past 60 years. It now makes quality, fashionable and foot-friendly shoes for both New Zealand and off-shore markets, and has more than 30 company owned stores both locally and in Australia, as well as a recently opened store in Fresno, USA.
Kumfs managing director, Andrew Robertson, grandson of original Kumfs founder the late David Robertson, said the company was founded when Adams and Robertson identified that many foot problems in women resulted from wearing narrow European shoes.
“European footwear is largely designed for women with narrow feet, not the wider feet that New Zealand women more commonly have,” Andrew said.
To address the problem, the two men developed a range of fashionable footwear that was wider and deeper toed, allowing feet to sit naturally within the shoe.
“The idea of foot-friendly shoes was somewhat revolutionary when Kumfs was established.
“However, we have experienced rapid growth as people have become increasingly aware of the health benefits of wearing shoes that fit properly, and demand has risen for fashionable shoes that can have orthotics inserted into them.”
According to Andrew, as well as its now extensive network of company stores, Kumfs also enjoys a rapidly expanding export market, with more than 500 retailers around the world stocking Kumfs shoes.
“Currently the biggest demand for our shoes comes from Australia, followed by New Zealand and then the United States.
“The Singaporean market, which was only introduced to Kumfs in 2004, is also a star performer at the moment, showing an increase of 57% over the year ended June 2006 - a huge increase in a relatively new market.”
Recently, the company also attracted widespread international interest when it unveiled its revolutionary new footwear range – the Y-Series sandals – at the World Shoe Association (WSA) fair in Las Vegas.
“The Y-Series sandals are unique as they are the first fashionable open toed sandals that allow for custom-made orthotics to be easily inserted into them.
“As far as I’m aware nothing of this style and calibre has been made before – it’s a case of kiwi ingenuity at its very best.”
“We believe that the new Y-Series is the answer for many women who have always felt that they have had to choose between the footwear that they want and the footwear that they need.”
“Kumfs continues to go from strength-to-strength and we look forward to what the next 60 years may hold.”