“Very responsive and knowledgeable customer service”
Very responsive and knowledgeable customer service, helped me put together a shoe care kit for my first shoes. Shipping arrived in 5 days. Will repurchase when my new shoes arrive.
Tim W
Quality shoe trees form the backbone of any shoe care regimen – they prevent leather rot, provide a working surface for proper conditioning and polishing, and act as literal skeletons that maintain the shape of your shoe. It is perhaps fitting that a shoe care startup like The ShoeTree Project had its humble origins as the premier stop for quality-crafted, size-specific shoe trees.
As shoe aficionados, we found that the best shoe care products were notoriously missing in Singapore, or could only be found at inconvenient retail stores. Just like the quintessential shoe tree, The ShoeTree Project strives to make your fine leather shoes last a lifetime by bringing personalized, high-quality shoe care right to your doorstep.
How it began
Meeting of like minds
Atticus meets Alphonsus in the military, and they bonded over their mutual appreciation of quality footwear. Fine craftsmanship is a fascination, hobby, and possibly – borderline addiction.
A stagnant shoe care industry
Alphonsus’ buys two pairs of shoe trees through a forum mass order in 2011. It took 2 weeks to consolidate, another week to arrive and distribute, and the international shipping cost $14 a pair. While still slightly cheaper than the $80 pair from his shoemaker’s, he was dismayed to find out the EUR 42s did not fit. However, getting them replaced with a workable size would incur a monstrous shipping fee, putting them well above the $80 mark – something had to be done.
The early days
The first shoe tree purchased
Leveraging on their experience and existing infrastructure in enterprise, Atticus and Alphonsus set up a part-time operation that delivered generic, 4-sized shoe trees right into the homes of Singaporean shoe owners, promising a size exchange for incorrect fits.
Then known as “ShoeTree Singapore”, the fledgling business sold its first pair of shoe trees with a Gumtree ad. A steady stream of orders started coming in from shoe owners who liked the convenience and did not have time to visit a physical store.
Maximizing value, minimizing costs
Atticus and Alphonsus started studying how the best shoe trees are made, with a vision to offer premium range shoe trees at mass market prices. With help from their customers, they found that common concerns were that the fragrance of the shoe tree wasn’t strong enough, the generic shape of the shoe tree did not provide adequate support, and that the difference between sizes were too large to have a close fit.
Launch of flagship shoe trees
ShoeTree Singapore launches its own premium collection of shoe trees: handcrafted from heartwood of the fragrantly sweet American Red Cedar into a feet-shaped last, they employed bidirectional spring mechanisms to fit a wide range of shoe shapes, and were available in a whopping 11 different sizes for only the best fit. They were an instant hit that propelled ShoeTree to the top-choice of shoe trees within just a month.
Coupled with a size exchange system and delivery infrastructure that delivers free of charge, ShoeTree Singapore has brought shopping for size-specific shoe trees out of traditional retail and into the comfort of people’s homes – at half the price.
The ShoeTree Project
ShoeTree opens its store to customers for the first time
Thanks to rave reviews and recommendations of satisfied customers, this humble business grew out of its capacity and started serving customers as far as Germany and Macau. ShoeTree officially opens its warehouse with full-time staff, which made it possible for shoe owners with unusually shaped shoes to have them fitted with the perfect shoe trees on the spot.
Rebranding and a greater mission
In maintaining a close relationship with our clients, ShoeTree found the inaccessibility of quality shoe care in Singapore extended well beyond just well-designed shoe trees. Renamed “The ShoeTree Project”, the team sought to reinvent a stagnating, inaccessible, traditional shoe care industry into a fast-moving, modern one no more than a few clicks away.
Extrapolating the successful problem-solving strategy from its flagship shoe trees, The ShoeTree Project solves shortcomings of current products by releasing its own line of shoe care accessories, such as horsehair brushes and shoe horns.
The ShoeTree Project also became the first to ship the world-renowned Saphir Medaille d’Or leather care line to your doorstep for free.
Today, The ShoeTree Project serves discerning clients in more than 15 countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Help us continue to push the shoe care industry forward with you
The ShoeTree Project is a work in progress – and always will be. That is why we’ll always love to receive constant feedback from you, our esteemed clients, so that we can carry on making shoe care easier for you.