Putting their best feet forward

Lantang: From a small counter on Nanjing Road, Lantang grows to sell footwear to Shanghai's elite. Photo provided to Shanghai Star

Tailor-made

In August 2009, Lantang-Bobu launched a tailor-made high-end leather shoes service, harking back to its classic shoemaking tradition by utilizing the latest 3D laser scanning technology.

"We want to offer something our competitors do not, and tailor-made shoes used to be our specialty," says Wang.

In two to three seconds, the shoemaker can get accurate information about a customer's feet. With advanced 3D technology, they can make a pair of shoes that fit the customer’s requirements.

The tailor-made leather shoes are about 1,000 yuan more expensive than the regular shoes sold by the brand.

Wedding market

"We make shoes for men and women, but we are still developing new markets, such as wedding shoes," says Wang.

In September 2014, Lantang-Bobu officially launched a special counter in its store for wedding shoes.

"We came across this idea after receiving quite a few enquiries from our customers who found it very difficult to buy tailor-made wedding shoes," Wang says.

By setting up a special design team for the shoes, the wedding shoes made by Lantang-Bobu are created to ensure comfort, style and durability.

"There are many stories about a pair of wedding shoes bought online breaking during a ceremony, and that is one thing our products will definitely not do," says Wang.

Lantang-Bobu's base customers are middle aged to older people, and the brand is continuously adding new products and services to attract younger generations. For the last six years, the company's sales revenues have risen steadily at an annual growth rate of 10 percent.