| Industry | Designing and Manufacturing Shoes and Foot products |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1909 |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York, United States |
| Area served | United States |
| Key people | Robert S. Schwartz |
| Products | Ready-Made shoes, Custom shoes, foot products, custom orthotics |
| Revenue | US$ 8 million (2009) |
| Employees | 55 (2010) |
| Website | www.eneslow.com/home.cfm |
Eneslow (pronounced N-S-LOW) is a New York City shoe store. Founded in 1909 by Edward and Nellie Stone Low, Eneslow owns three stores in the New York: two in Manhattan and one in Queens. They are America’s largest pedorthic retailer.[1]
Eneslow, accredited by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics (ABC), includes a laboratory where shoes and orthotics are made-to-order, modified and repaired; and the brand also houses the Eneslow Pedorthic Institute, a pedorthic education and training center, in its Park Avenue headquarters.
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Eneslow, originally known as N.S. Low, was founded by Edward and Nellie Stone Low in 1909. The company initially sold medical devices on Avenue A: trusses, and then segued into surgical products. In 1914, Nat Low joins Edward Low, and the business is incorporated. The shoe department was introduced in 1926 in the midst of America’s infantile paralysis epidemic when braces and splints were a common remedy, was an off-shoot of the medical category. This shoe department introduction has been possible because Sol joined Eneslow. The same year, Eneslow moved to 220 East 23rd Street.
In 1968, Paul and Charles Schwartz bought the company and moved its headquarters to 695 6th Avenue. At that time, Eneslow has two other locations, one in Brooklyn since 1949 and one in the Bronx since 1937. In 1973, Robert S. Schwartz (the current President and CEO) joined Eneslow after a 10-year career in sales and marketing. In 1975, Robert S. Schwartz and his brother Richard B. Schwartz, each owned 50 percent of Eneslow and Apex. By the mid-1980s, when he and his brother, Richard, split the company he became the sole owner of the retail division; he turned Eneslow into a regional chain with eight stores. But when New York State slashed Medicaid reimbursements for medical shoes and orthotics, the company lost 50 percent of its business and Schwartz decided to shutter all but his flagship store located at 924 Broadway, NYC.
In 1983, the two businesses – Eneslow and Apex – are split up; Robert S. Schwartz bought out Richard B. Schwartz to get full ownership.
In 1985, Eneslow buys Classic Mold Shoe Company, makers of custom molded and custom orthopedic dress shoes and sandals and merges it into the company. In 1995, Eneslow Pedorthic Institute (EPI) is founded.In 2003, the company bought a retail store from Selby Fifth Avenue at 254–61 Horace Harding Expressway in Little Neck, Queens; changed its name to Eneslow and opens its second store. In 2006, the company moves its long-time Broadway headquarters location to 470 Park Avenue South at 32nd Street. In 2009: The Centennial, On May 1 Eneslow opens a third store on the Upper East Side of Manhattan at 1504 Second Avenue between 78th and 79th streets.[2]
Eneslow’s locations are all in New York with three different stores: two in Manhattan and one in Queens (Little Neck). Eneslow's retail locations are the followings:
Eneslow’s headquarters is located at 470 Park Avenue South at 32nd Street since 2006. The 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) premises include the company’s biggest store, the Eneslow Pedorthic Institute (EPI) classroom and a custom shoe department in an 1,000-square-foot (93 m2) area.
The Little Neck, Queens, location opened in 2003. This is a 5,000-square-foot (460 m2) shopping center store at 254–61 Horace Harding Expressway in Little Neck.
The last store opened by Eneslow is the second Manhattan location. It is a 2,000-square-foot (190 m2) store on the Upper East Side at 1504 Second Avenue between 78th and 79th streets, a residential neighborhood.
The Eneslow Pedorthic Institute[3] was founded in 1995 by Eneslow and its President & CEO Robert S. Schwartz for the design, manufacture, modification, and proper fit of shoes and foot orthoses. EPI sponsors courses, conventions and seminars on an on-going basis. There are only five such centers in the United States and this is the only one in New York City.
The institute trains pedorthists, drawing students from around the world. In addition to pre-certification courses, it offers reviews for the pre-certification exam and teaches certified shoe-fitter courses. Podiatry students and orthopedic surgeons have attended the institute.
The classes, which are accredited by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics (ABC) and the Board of Certification/Accreditation, International (BOC), as pedorthic pre-certification courses, are taught by Eneslow Medical Director Justin Wernick, Eneslow President Robert S. Schwartz, Eneslow staff and pedorthists, podiatrists, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, endocrinologists, shoe designers and diabetes educators.
Pre-certification Pedorthics Course:
The pedorthic pre-certification courses are designed to prepare an individual to sit for the exam to become a certified pedorthist.
The Eneslow Custom Department[4] is a place where shoes can undergo modifications and repair. Structural and cosmetic modifications are done to all kinds of shoes; orthotics are fabricated as well.
Eneslow’s main factory is located at 470 Park Avenue @ 32nd Street flagship store; the other stores have their own shops for minor work.
Soles 4 Souls[5]
Eneslow is one of the major supporters of this charitable organization. Every day of the year, Eneslow collects shoes for the needy. The shoes go to the organization, Soles4Souls, who distributes new and gently used footwear around the world to those in need. Since 2008, when they started the shoe-raiser at its flagship store, it collected more than 30,000 pairs of shoes valued at more than $1 million.
In addition to its retail services, Eneslow provides free footwear, socks, and insoles for relief workers, disaster victims, and the homeless. Eneslow offers customers incentives to bring in their old shoes for distribution.