Selling A Sole
S-One Insoles don't stink.
Edited by John Stouffer
(6-19-98)

Chris Terins is one of the owners of S-One Sole Technology in Costa Mesa, California. He recently dropped by the TransWorld offices, so we sat down and asked him some questions about the insoles made specifically for snowboarding boots and skateboarding shoes.

Chris Terins of S One Sole Technology

The company is relatively new to snowboarding, with a small account base compared to what it's doing in skateboarding (where it sells to 200 shops). After working with snowboarding for about a year and a half, the company has an impressive list of pro snowboarders it's working with, including Trevor Andrew, Jon Sommers, Ian Spiro, Shane Charleboix, Blair Russin, and Jim Rippey. If all these guys believe the in soles help their snowboarding, maybe you should try them as well.

SNOWboarding Business: How long will one of your soles last in a snowboarding boot?
Chris Terins: It will last at least a season.

How long until it starts to smell bad?
That's funny you ask that. I don't know how much the average insole smells, but we have an anti-bacterial property in ours. It's not a deodorant property really, but it does help.

So it's clean, but stinky?
Yeah, I guess you could say that. It could get stinky.

Have you thought about doing a deodorant insole?
Yeah, it will up the price.

Can you give them different scents, like wintergreen or orange?
We supposedly could do that. It's not a priority right now. Our pros didn't really talk about it. It's not our number-one priority.

They weren't asking, "I want my shoes to smell like buttercup chocolate"?
I can hear the pros now: "Yeah, can you do that? Thanks. All right. Bye." [laughs]

The insoles are designed for three purposes. One, comfort. Two, arch and anatomical support. And three, heel support. It's pretty basic and not everyone was getting it in their boots.

How much do they sell for?
Retail, twenty dollars.

For twenty dollars, you're getting almost new boots.
Yeah, and some shop owners will give them away with a pair of boots to help the sale. Or they'll sell them for twenty bucks. It's a win-win situation to facilitate that customer.

Sometimes the insoles help a boot fit better. Say a young kid has a little extra room in the boot. You can use these to help the fit. There are so many different selling points.

We're shipping promo videos with all our insoles this October, and the promo has three parts: an in-shop section, an action section, and a selling section about how to understand and sell the insoles. That will help everyone out.

Good luck. Thanks for dropping by.

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