If the shoe doesn't fit: How a child's fast-growing feet inspired a doctor to start a shoe company

The best business ideas often come about when enterprising thinkers put themselves in their customers’ shoes. That’s how a New Brunswick doctor ended up launching a kids’ footwear company. Dr. Maryse Tadros, a family physician in Oromocto—about 20 kilometres southeast of Fredericton—was looking for a pair of winter boots for one of her three children. It was February and many of the stores she had gone to had already switched their product selections to spring and summer footwear. Problem was, her daughter still needed boots and the pair she currently owned had a hole in one of the soles. So Dr. Tadros searched online, and found a pair priced at more than $50. She balked at the price, given that the season was almost over and she knew that, by next winter, her daughter would have outgrown her still-new boots and would need another pair. Read: Novel in-ear technology could allow chewing to replace the batteries in hearing aids She also shook her head as she thought about how hard it is for parents to keep up with their kids’ footwear needs as they grew. On another occasion, her oldest child came home from daycare with a note saying her shoes were too small. Would her parents make sure she came in the next day with a new pair that fits? “There’s got to be a better way to do this,” Dr. Tadros was quoted in a Global News article. “I know they’re going to wear all the sizes, there should just be a way to buy all the sizes from the moment they are little because you know you’re going to need all of them.” She decided to create that better way. In March, Dr. Tadros’s fledgling business, Chameleon Shoes, rolled out its first toddler shoe kit—a package of six pairs of gender-neutral shoes in six different sizes and colours. The shoes, which are packaged in a hanging organizer with a pocket for each pair, are chosen for their durability and affordability, with kit prices starting at $109 each. Read: The (medical) funny pages: Bless this mess “They last as long as your kids need them,” said Dr. Tadros. “So this is a bigger investment upfront—you’re paying $109 or $139 depending on the kit—but you’re getting six pairs of shoes.” Chameleon Shoes, which sells online and in-store in Fredericton, offer infant kits, for kids aged zero to one-and-a-half years old, and toddler kits for two- to five-year-olds. For every 10 kits sold, the company donates one kit to a daycare or shelter. Dr. Tadros said she plans to expand her product line to include running shoes and sandals. Read: Hang in there, parents: Brain science shows teen annoyance part of normal development

If the shoe doesn't fit: How a child's fast-growing feet inspired a doctor to start a shoe company

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