Poppy Barley gives the boot to NFL cheerleaders

A young Edmonton company is makingimpressive strides in the highlycompetitive footwear industry.

Poppy Barley has been around less than two years, but it's managed to tap into a growing consumer trend.

"Poppy Barley is a custom and limited edition e-commerce footwear company,"says co-founder Justine Barber. "We design, manufacture, and distribute made-to-measure and limited footwear for women."

The company is a throwback to the days when made-to-measure was the only option. Sisters Justine and Kendall Barber saw an opportunity based on feedback from customers.

"When we started we found that 60 per centof women identified with the idea that finding boots was difficult for a large variety of reasons. Really narrow calves, wide feet, wider calves, and really tall and really short," Kendall Barber said.

So the sisters came up with a system that puts consumers in control. Customers select their style, choose either a flator a boot, then pickthecolour.They are guided through a measurement process.

Business was slow at first.

But then, a big break: two National Football League teams in need of custom boots for their cheerleaders.

"When they emailed us at first we were like, 'Is it football season?Who are the Rams?Who are the Raiders?'We weren't really up to speed on the NFL situation," Kendall Barber said.

"We never envisioned Poppy Barley would be making boots for cheerleaders," Justine Barber said.

In just two years, the company is really kicking it up a notch; handling about 200 custom orders a month aclear sign that more consumers are craving personalized fashion.

University of Alberta marketing expertKyle Murraysaidthe personal touch isn't limited to footwear, but runs the gamut fromBuildABeerto BMW.

"Suits, dresses, all kinds of customize clothing mostly sold over the internet so most of it is online commerce, which 10 years ago would have been unheard of."

Consumers' growing comfort with online shopping is also good news for companies like Poppy Barley, Murray said.