Dick's fails and Underarmour loses

In a follow up to the previous post regarding Dick's and their lack of wider width running shoes, I did receive the following email response:


Thank you for your product inquiry. We are always happy to help you find
the right merchandise. The Running Shoes for Wider Width are available
and can be found in our Internet store catalog. Please copy and paste
the link below in to the URL field of your Internet browser:

I was just told that because my feet are slightly wider then average I will have to buy my running shoes on line.  Holy Shit!  I replied, of course, noting that I if I had to buy my running shoes online it would most likely be from Amazon since they have the same brands at better prices.  Some executive moron at Dick's made the decision to only carry D width shoes in their stores, at least the closest store to me, in Mechancisburg, PA.  No doubt, for them this is cost effective thinking.

This store's bigger then the one I shop in, maybe they have E width shoes!

To my surprise, when I went to the Underarmour website to check out their running shoes, I discovered they don't sell them.  How do I know?  Shoe description in comments.  Every one of their shoes was made for average width only.  There were questions from potential customers regarding shoe width, if shoes were available in wider sizes.  The response was always the same:  not at this time.  Tell me that doesn't suck.

One size does not fit all!

Don't these people understand it's all about finding a shoe that fits comfortably.  If you need to purchase a shoe that is 2 sizes larger in order to get the proper width, it's a big fail.  If the only shoes available don't fit and you end up with blisters, it's a fail.  At a time when companies are trying to increase their market share, ignoring one potential source of revenue is a fail.  For those interested, ASICS, New Balance, and Munzio sell shoes for those who need wider width shoes. 

Running shoes, the losing side of Dick's

A long time ago, when I went into the US Navy, I was surprised that at 8.5 D my shoe size was rather small for a 5'11" man, in fact, I think I had the smallest feet in my division.  This was no big deal, I mean, feet are feet, the vast majority of us have at least 2.  However, over time, as I matured into middle age, my feet changed.  I now wear a size 9 E.  The new shoe size shouldn't be a problem, should it?  Well, it is.  Evidently we people with wider then average feet are a minority in the world, and as such, retailers tend give us short shrift.  Let me give you an example.  Two days ago I went to Dick's Sporting Goods planning to purchase a new pair of running shoes.  Guess what?  I spent fifteen minutes crawling around on the floor, pulling out shoe box after shoe box, looking for a pair that was not sized a D.  No luck.  So I went on line and looked.  They don't give customers an option.  They list one standard size.  Now I could order a pair of those running shoes if I wanted to, but I can tell you they wouldn't even come close to fitting my feet.

Only average sized shoes here

A rule of thumb when ordering running shoes, or training shoes, or any kind of shoes on line is to add to your shoe size, so if you wear a 9 you should order a 10.  Excuse me, but am I not the only one who thinks this is a bit crazy?  I checked out Zappo's, which offers wide shoes,  and then looked at the same sized, wide shoe at Amazon and most of the comments were "not big enough, order a size larger."  True, there were a few comments praising the shoe, but there were not that many.  Feet are like people, they are not all the same.  Unfortunately, I suspect most manufacturers and retailers prefer to focus on the average because it's more cost effective, thus leaving us wide footers out in the cold.