Brands Briefing: 80-year-old Minnetonka banks on clogs and creators to woo new customers

There are more changes afoot at Minnetonka, as well. In February, Minnetonka launched a micro-influencer program to build engagement. Over the past year, it has dialed up its ad spend on Meta and TikTok to drive consideration among shoppers discovering Minnetonka for the first time. And, in the fall, it will venture into socks, gloves, hats, throw blankets and pillows. “Our consumers want to be cozy, even if that’s a feeling [and] even if it’s not winter,” Miller told Modern Retail.

Today, Minnetonka’s modernization plans are paying off, the brand says. Sales are up 12% year over year, while new customers are up 19% and returning customers are up 16%. Notably, the number of new website visitors from November 2025 to May 2026 grew 2,627% year over year. The company does not publicly disclose revenue.

While Minnetonka is a legacy brand, it’s important to “keep evolving and pushing,” said Miller, the fourth generation to work at the brand. Miller’s great-grandfather started the business in 1946, selling shoes to roadside gift shops. Her father, David, is the CEO. “My grandfather, who passed away two years ago, worked right until the end,” she said. “It’s really rare for family businesses to get this far, so it’s exciting.”

Minnetonka operates in a variety of channels, including direct-to-consumer. Its online business is responsible for the majority of sales, and the company sells merchandise at DSW, Nordstrom, Free People, Anthropologie and Evereve. Minnetonka also consults its reconciliation advisor, artist and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe member Adrienne Benjamin, on designs. The brand began working with Benjamin in 2021, as part of its “public journey towards reconciling [its] past appropriation” of Native American culture.

Today, Minnetonka sells many products — including boots, slippers, moccasins and sandals — many of which the company has “been making for decades,” Miller explained. However, she acknowledged, in 2026, “Consumers’ expectations have changed a bit, so we have been identifying some holes.” Customers still want to be comfortable, but they are also back in the office and out with friends. “We want to make sure that we’re covering all the aspects of how consumers wear our products,” Miller said.

Still, Minnetonka doesn’t want to be everything to everyone, Miller said. “[Our customers] are not going to wear our products to go hike a mountain,” she said. “Nobody needs a Minnetonka stiletto. But there are a lot of really important times in people’s day-to-day lives [that] we serve.”

In 2026, that has led to a re-examination of the company’s footwear catalog. Fans shouldn’t worry; Minnetonka will continue to develop slippers, said Miller, who explained, “We don’t take our eye off of that.” But one of the brand’s focuses going forward will be more constructed shoes that people can wear outdoors in casual contexts, like walking the dog, heading to a restaurant or running errands. Earlier this year, Minnetonka debuted a buckle clog and a loafer moccasin, and both are seeing “good demand,” Miller explained.

In fact, the buckle clog has been the most requested style among the dozens of influencers in Minnetonka’s creator program. So far, influencers have been gifted around 500 pairs of shoes; many go on to make social media posts and videos showing off the products. “As a mom, I’m constantly slipping on shoes,” said creator Madison Glock, whose June TikTok about the buckle clogs racked up more than 500 views.

Slippers were the “it” shoe of the pandemic, leading to huge sales spikes for brands like Ugg. But slippers today have moved “beyond indoor footwear,” said Beth Goldstein, footwear industry analyst at Circana.

Slippers are still posting strong growth; dollar sales were up 18% for the 12 months ending in May, compared to two years ago, per Circana data. However, much of that growth was driven by outdoor-ready clog styles as consumers look for footwear “that combines comfort, versatility and ease,” Goldstein told Modern Retail. “As a result, competition across the slipper-inspired casual footwear market continues to intensify,” Goldstein added.

Indeed, Minnetonka is battling with other sandal makers for market share. These include Ugg, as well as Birkenstock, Teva, Chaco, OluKai and Bombas. But Minnetonka is dealing with other challenges as it expands, as well. The company’s shoes are produced in China and the Dominican Republic, meaning Minnetonka had to deal with navigating ever-fluctuating tariffs for much of 2025.

In fact, sky-high U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports went into effect just as Minnetonka was finalizing its spring 2026 collection. The company ended up tightening the line, and it also avoided shipping from China when duties were over 100%. Minnetonka ended up raising prices on some of its products, although not “enough to cover everything,” said Miller.

Still, the company is optimistic about the future, especially when it comes to navigating the next decades. Since 1946, Minnetonka has weathered everything from oil crises to the dot-com boom to the Covid-19 pandemic. In this way, staying nimble has been “critical” for a small, family-owned business like Minnetonka, Miller said.

“That’s something that as a small, privately-owned business, you can do well, but you have to be able to weather a lot,” she said. “Last year was very challenging. I’m really grateful we’re here.” Now, she said, the brand is “honoring the heritage, but pushing forward and not being afraid to change, either.”

What we’re reading

• Tailored Brands, the parent of Men’s Wearhouse, has filed for an IPO in the U.S. (WWD)
• Watches of Switzerland is holding potential takeover talks. (Reuters)
• Shopping app Phia claimed credit for online sales it didn’t actually drive. (Bloomberg)

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