Ron White Expands US Shoe Business With Men’s Line, HSN Debut
With 30 years under his belt, Ron White shows no signs of slowing down.
The Canadian independent retailer-turned-designer has entered 2025 with a bang. Having launched his men’s shoe business for the U.S. market just last year, Ron White has quickly found partners in Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, among other independents.
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White is no stranger to wholesale, however. He launched his namesake designs in 2006 — originally to sell only in his own brick-and-mortar locations in Canada before expanding his women’s collections to other retailers, such as Nordstrom, Von Maur, Dillard’s and more, a few years later. Now, wholesale accounts for the majority of the business as Ron White can be found across North America in more than 80 stores.
The designer, who first launched with his “All Day Heels” line, has since expanded his offering to include boots, mules, sandals, slippers and his best-selling sneakers.
“I always say my my boots and my shoes feel like cashmere sweaters for your feet,” said White on his made-in-Italy designs. “[And our luxury sneakers], we sell them like hot cakes. It’s now 60% of our total business.”
White is tackling a new audience, too, thanks to HSN. In November, the shoe veteran partnered with the Qurate Retail Group’s Home Shopping Network after years of working with the largest home shopping network in Canada. (It’s currently White’s biggest partner and he appears on air to sell his shoes every six weeks.)
“What I’ve learned is all boats rise and it’s a truly a win-win. So I get to go and explain how I designed this, why it’s special. Nobody can say it better than the designer,” explained White. “Whenever I go on air, I find we do fantastic sales and business on air, and then the brick-and mortar-stores, our partners also see a bump.”
White made an HSN appearance last week with singer Deborah Cox on The List.
“I’ve been a fan of Ron White’s footwear for over a decade,” she told FN. “What I love most about the brand is the fact that I don’t have to choose between quality and style. Ron seamlessly marries top-quality materials with his sophisticated interpretation of trending silhouettes. The result is always a comfortable, Italian-made shoe that makes an elegant statement.”
Along with Cox, another celebrity fan of the brand is Vanessa Williams. The actress has been wearing Ron White shoes for years, and for her latest gig in the London production “The Devil Wears Prada” musical, Williams tapped White to create custom shoes.
In the show, Williams can be seen in six Ron White designs that has since inspired the designer to launch an upcoming Devil Wears Prada by Ron White capsule that will be available for purchase.
Next up, White is launching in Australia and New Zealand on its own version of home shopping, he said.
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