About nine months ago we partnered with Nikunj Marvania to incubate a new ecommerce company called Awl and Sundry. The vision of Awl and Sundry is to democratize the highest price point of men’s made-to-order dress shoes, making them affordable to all. Today, Awl and Sundry offers more than 2 billion permutations for design, at a fraction of the traditional cost. We’re excited to announce that we have finally opened the site up to all – you can find it here.
When the Interplay crew met Nikunj we didn’t fully understand the problem he was trying to solve. He illuminated the existence of a high-end custom and made-to-order shoe market that charged customers up to $6,000 per pair. Most of us don’t even know this market segment exists – I certainly didn’t. At first I assumed that the shoes at that price point couldn’t be much better than my “high-end” Cole Haans or otherwise. And then, I tried on a pair, quickly realizing that I’d been driving a Pinto in a world where the Porsche existed. The leather inside is nicer than the leather outside. I’d never seen anything like it.
Nikunj Marvania is a true shoe connoisseur. To him shoes are a work of art and he’s a tough critic. He sees shoe craftsmanship successes or failures that extend beyond the untrained eye. The process, the types of glues and handmade stitching matter greatly to him. He’s on a quest to make the perfect shoe.
Nikunj figured out that by recreating the production process and cutting out the offline sales he could deliver shoes at the same cost to the market for $350 a pair, putting exceptional quality just a small price above ready made men’s shoe wear
With more than 2 billion permutations, the site allows you to make your own personal style of shoes. Alligator skin? Pink stitching? No problem. If you need inspiration, you can also leverage the vision of others.
Roll in style. Check it out: Awl & Sundry
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