On Nov. 29, Sam and Libby Edelman will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 37th annual FN Achievement Awards. Below is an article from the magazine’s Nov. 27 print issue about their success through the years.
Sam and Libby Edelman are, simply put, couple goals. On set in New York, the two playfully pose together. They know their angles. They laugh. They’re at ease and they make this cover shoot feel effortless in a way only two people who’ve been together for nearly 45 years can.
“I live with my muse. I live with Libby,” Sam said matter-of-factly when asked about his secret to success.
The Edelmans have made their mark in the footwear industry selling millions and millions of pairs of shoes through their two iconic labels. Their most recent success story, the eponymous Sam Edelman label, is celebrating its 20th anniversary next year, but the masterminds behind the business have been hard at work for much longer.
Libby, a fashion editor who worked for Harper’s Bazaar and Seventeen magazine, met Sam — who was running Horseshoes, a line of English riding-inspired footwear that he launched with his father — at the New York Shoe Show in 1979. “We fell in love over shoes,” said Libby.
Shortly after they married, they were off to the races, so to speak. Sam closed Horseshoes and went to work at Candie’s for a stint before linking up with friend Kenneth Cole to help co-found Kenneth Cole Productions in 1982.
“These were little segments of time where we were paying our dues in the business, where we were learning,” Sam said.
Then, in 1983, the young couple relocated to California to work with Esprit. Sam took on the role as president of footwear, building the company into a $55 million business and making Esprit the No. 1 juniors’ shoe brand in America, thanks to its hit slingback shoe, the Born to Run, which sold 1 million pairs.
“We really knew that shoe was going to be one of the biggest shoes ever,” he remembered.
Friend and fellow industry veteran Bob Goldman, founder of Cels Enterprises Inc., first met and worked with Sam during those Esprit days. “One of the things I love about Sam is that he will drive you crazy to get to perfection,” Goldman said. “Together, Sam and Libby, are the perfect combination of business and marketing.”
Esprit was just the first taste of blockbuster status for the Edelmans.
In 1987, the duo famously launched their own label, Sam & Libby, and their bow ballet flat was an instant smash, selling 7 million pairs from 1987 to 1991.
“It happened so fast — the enthusiasm from the stores calling us and saying how well it was selling,” remembered Libby. “Fashion sort of called for it. Sam had come back from Europe and said there were all these ballet stores that are just selling ballets. There was a void. Nobody was wearing a ballet here. It was feminine and flirty, and every age could wear it.”
The Edelmans have since had other breakout styles at Sam Edelman, with the Gigi sandal and the Ginger gladiator, for instance.
For Sam, there are three key components to creating winning product. “You have to have a great item and let the item emerge from fashion. You have to have the manufacturing and people on the other side of the world who believe in you and are going to really run with you. And then third, you have to market it.”
Branding has been the backbone of the Edelmans’ business plan from day one.
For instance, in the early days of Sam & Libby, the couple recalled the time they paid a photographer $50 to shoot portraits of their family to be made into campaign posters. “I’d say we were very authentic. We were real people, we were selling our product, we believed in it, and we wanted to meet everybody that was buying our product. That was key,” said Libby.
Sam added, “People know when you are real people. Sam & Libby was a true story. We were dead broke on our 30th birthday. And all we did was work. I think that really came through in our story.”
It certainly resonated with consumers. The company went from zero to $75 million in sales over the short span of four years.
When it came time to launch his namesake brand in 2004, Sam flexed that marketing talent once again with the giant logo splashed on the insole of each shoe.
“We had to look at alternative ways of marketing. How do you make a brand really big?” said Sam. “The logo in Sam Edelman was our key because every morning girls have to walk in their closets and look down and think, ‘What am I going to wear today?’ And the biggest logo in their closet would be Sam Edelman.”
As the namesake brand nears the two-decade mark, the co-founders reflected on challenges they faced with this second big venture. Unlike Sam & Libby, it wasn’t an immediate hit, they said — though that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. “It’s good that we started slowly because we built the company with high integrity,” said Libby. “We really worked hard on homing in on the voids out there in the fashion market. That’s why we’re 20 years old and hope that it goes on forever, because we built a really strong company.”
While Sam Edelman may have taken a couple years to get its footing after launching, the brand has since become a household name and one of the biggest success stories in contemporary footwear.
“Sam and Libby have consistently demonstrated their ability to effectively navigate the ever-changing shoe and fashion landscape,” said Kenneth Cole. “Their unparalleled ability to anticipate industry shifts and trends has allowed them to seamlessly reinvent themselves and their businesses as needed. Their dynamic partnership has left an indelible mark on the shoe industry. I am inspired by their consistent execution and proud of their friendship throughout.”
The potential of the Sam Edelman brand was so compelling that it attracted the attention of industry giant Caleres, which acquired the company in 2010.
“Sam and Libby’s passion for the business and unwavering work ethic is key to the brand’s success. It is the driving force behind the longevity of their careers and their ability to delight consumers season after season,” said Diane Sullivan, executive chair of Caleres. “They are intuitive merchants with an incredible aesthetic and drive for making outstanding product.”
Part of the magic of the Sam Edelman brand is that it was born out of a genuine love for fashion and footwear — and benefited from the Edelmans’ previous ups and downs in the business.
Sam & Libby went public in 1991, but eventually faltered, leading the Edelmans to sell the brand to Maxwell Shoe Co. in 1996 with plans to step away from the industry and focus on their other love: horses.
During that time, Sam suffered a major horseback-riding accident, which proved to be a revelation.
“I remember the time of my third or fourth surgery, I said, ‘If I ever can walk again, I want to go back in the fashion business. I don’t feel like I finished our story. And I think there’s a story to tell,’” he recalled. “There was a need for affordable fashion, but you couldn’t just copy, you had to make a statement. And you had to be different, unique, special, whimsical and still on trend. That’s what we do. That’s what comes easiest to us.”
For the Edelmans, their major achievements wouldn’t have come without family.
Each of their three kids have been involved in the company over the years, though their eldest son, Jesse Edelman, caught the shoe bug the most and now serves as SVP and GM at the company.
Sam explained that operating a family business requires care.
“Having worked for my father, I wanted to make sure to avoid the mistakes that I’d seen and had been made by others,” he said. “So when Jesse came in, he worked for everybody but me and Libby. And he learned the business from the ground up.”
A true defining moment came for the family in the last year, when Caleres promoted Jesse to have him operate the business.
Jesse added, “Ushering the next generation of emerging talent, maintaining our roots and authenticity and providing disruption to our ever-evolving industry is what has distinguished Sam Edelman for the last 20 years. My goal is to continue to manifest my parents’ founding vision of Sam Edelman in this next chapter of our story… with that same legacy and spirit.”
Since launching with women’s footwear, Sam Edelman has expanded over the years to encompass kids’ shoes as well as apparel. It operates 25 branded store locations and is sold in 33 countries, through major wholesale partners including Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s.
“I’m proud of us working together, and building the brands that we’ve had. It’s unusual to have a couple that can do it, but we really learned how to,” Libby said.
And after a lifetime of achievements, there are no plans on slowing down for the Edelmans. Big moves are coming in the next few years, in the form of international expansion with over 10 additional regions expected to open by 2026. Sam Edelman is also relaunching its Sam & Libby brand at Famous Footwear and select retailers nationwide starting next spring.
Said Sam, “I didn’t know you’re supposed to slow down. It’s just not in our vocabulary.”
For 37 years, the annual FN Achievement Awards — often called the “Shoe Oscars” — have celebrated the style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans. The 2023 event is supported by sponsors Authentic Brands Group, Birdies, Caleres, Crocs, FDRA, Nordstrom, Saucony and Vibram.
