The truth is, we’re not in a great position.
When coronavirus hit, our sales dropped to record lows. This normally would be okay, but we had invested a lot of our money into extra inventory.
When you have low inventory, one problem is that retailers may be constantly out of sizes. You probably notice this with a lot of retailers you shop with. Companies save cash short term, but sometimes it isn’t a great experience for the customer.
That’s why we decided to buy a lot of inventory and take a risk. Our goal was to have fewer customers waiting months for the next shipment of shoes. The timing was terrible.
Our big order of inventory arrived just as coronavirus tanked our sales to historic lows. Oops. We ended up stuck with years of inventory (previously 6-9 months of inventory at regular sales levels). We ended up losing money every month, even while cutting the founder’s salaries to zero and slashing all unnecessary expenses.
So that’s why we’re having the coronavirus only sale. We want to get get our inventory to healthy levels and get sales to make our business healthy again. In order to help keep prices low, we're doing a few things.
- We are no longer guaranteeing complimentary shoe trees with each pair of shoes. For now, you might still find a pair included with your order. But in our next factory purchase order, shoes will not include shoe trees. They will be available for purchase separately.
- We are changing the return policy to charge $25 for returned shoes with dirt on them, charge $50 for scuff repair, and no refunds on permanently damaged shoes (HOWEVER, we can ship them free back to you).
For full transparency, we do plan on increasing prices after the pandemic is over (along with including the complimentary shoe trees and reverting the better return policy). But in the meantime, we hope these lower prices are a win-win for both you and us. Feel free to write in if you have any questions - we’re always here to help. Just reach out to care@carets.com