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The Good Feet Store tries on M&A for size

Richard Collings
Illustration of a foot stepping on to an orthotic made from money.

Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios

The Good Feet Store, a retailer of arch support products, is actively exploring acquisitions of complementary brands after buying ING Source, a compression sock business, CEO Richard Moore tells Axios.

Why it matters: The global foot orthotic insole market is expected to grow to more than $6 billion by 2029 from about $3.5 billion in 2021, according to a recent report from Fortune Business Insights.

What's next: The Carlsbad, Calif.-based company plans to open stores in New York, Chicago and Florida, and aims to be a fully national chain by 2023 with a presence in all major markets.

Details: Moore envisions the chain as a "one-stop solution to all things around alignment and pain and performance related to arch support."

  • "We actually believe very strongly that we can become a multi-concept franchisor under this platform," Moore says of the company's M&A ambitions.
  • And while there are deals the company could finance itself, there are opportunities large enough that Good Feet would want to bring in a strategic partner both for the capital and the expertise, Moore says.
  • In fact, the company is in talks to form what Moore described as "transformational partnerships," to offer more solutions to its customers, though no equity is likely to swap hands.

By the numbers: Good Feet just opened its 200th store in Boston (it directly owns 22 locations), Moore says.

  • The franchise-based business concluded 2021 with 188 locations and plans to end this year with 230 to 235 stores.
  • Since 2018, average same-store sales growth on an annual basis is 6%, while the compound annual growth rate is more than 20%, he says.

Flashback: York Capital acquired The Good Feet Store in 2020 from founder Matt Coleman, who remains a shareholder.

Of note: The investment came out of the PE firm's third fund. Houlihan Lokey advised Coleman on the sale.

The bottom line: The retailer is "wide open for M&A," whether transformational partnerships with existing brands or up-and-coming businesses that the company could help grow, Moore says.

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