Hoy Shoe Co. first made strappy water sandals during WWII in St. Louis. They're still at it

ST. LOUIS — Hoy Shoe Co. has been making and selling leather sandals here since World War II and, except for new color options and higher-quality materials, they’re pretty much the same as when founder Walter Hoy started cobbling together leather scrap materials from a military boot factory.

“We’ve pretty much made the same kind of shoes since 1944. That’s one of the reasons we’re still in business, because we don’t change,” said Eric Gebel, company CEO and the grandson of Walter Hoy. “We’re kind of like a Converse and Birkenstock. Converse — they make all those high tops, but they’re just different colors. We do the same thing.”

St. Louis was an epicenter of shoe manufacturing in the early 20th century. The Merchants’ Exchange of St. Louis reported that in 1905 the city was the largest distributor of shoes, and manufactured about 7% of the total number of pairs in the U.S.

Footwear companies such as the Brown Shoe Co., Samuels Shoe Co. and the International Shoe Co. had factories and warehouses producing billions of shoes and employing tens of thousands of people. Many operations were situated along downtown’s Washington Avenue, in what became the city’s garment district.

Eight decades ago, Walter Hoy was making military boots when he noticed how many leather scraps were going to waste in a time when rations dictated people’s spending.

After receiving permission from the government to use the discarded material, Hoy began making leather sandals. He made one of the first pairs for his daughter Margery, and soon families across the city were asking if Hoy could make sandals for their kids.

Today, Hoy Shoe’s biggest brands, Salt Water and Sun-San, do well in California and southern states thanks to warm weather, but the sandals are also shipped to distributors in Canada, Asia, Europe, South America and Australia. The shoes can be found in department stores such as Nordstrom and Dillard’s in addition to mom-and-pop storefronts.

Hoy Shoe sandals are made out of scuff-resistant and water-friendly leather. The handful of designs vary in weave patterns and come in a variety of colors. Some have buckles, ankle straps or rubber-like soles, but for the most part, the shoes are pretty similar. For a long time, Hoy Shoe’s biggest market was kids.

“They were originally designed with little kids in mind, sitting with their legs crossed, playing,” Gebel said. “They would wear them one summer and then the next summer the moms would buy them another pair because they would last a whole year.”

Recently, Hoy Shoe began selling sandals directly to consumers for the first time, through its website. This has helped broaden the company’s reach and mitigate any loss of revenue from when in-person shopping dropped off during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Cullen Downs, business development and marketing director. He and Gebel are cousins.

“We’re small enough and nimble enough that, with the marketplace changing with COVID, we were able to pivot and develop our website and sell directly to the consumer because that’s where the market shifted,” said Jeff Downs, company president and Cullen’s father. “That gave us the ability to remain profitable when wholesale business dropped off.”

Newer and better things

Unlike the rest of the shoe industry, which saw decreased sales during the pandemic, Hoy Shoe did well and sold almost 800,000 pairs of shoes in 2021. However, now its sales have been dropping as the shoe landscape continues to shift. Hoy Shoe sold 500,000 pairs in 2022 and fell to about 350,000 last year.

The footwear market is predicted to be valued at $423 billion this year, an increase from 2023’s $405 billion, per data from market research organization Straits Research. According to research firm Statista Market Insights, volume in the market is estimated to reach over 14 billion pairs sold in 2028, with a market volume growth of 0.6% in 2025.

Gebel said it’s a difficult market to sell in right now as the whole shoe industry is down thanks to the economy and politics affecting shipping from China. To counter this, many brands have expanded their offerings. Birkenstock now sells sneakers and Crocs are advertising platform loafers. Yet, Hoy Shoe is hesitant to add more footwear options to its roster.

“I think there’s an argument to be made for staying in your niche that you’re very good at and doing it better than anybody else,” said Downs, the president. “If we stepped out and started doing tennis shoes right away, that’s not us.”

Instead, Gebel said he’s interested in getting better. If a competitor comes out with something better, Gebel said they’ll test it to see if Hoy Shoe can improve its materials or features.

“We put a lot of pride and a lot of work into our shoes and we always improve,” he said. “We’re always looking for newer and better things.”

All the leather sandals used to be cut, stitched and constructed at the St. Louis headquarters, but about two decades ago Gebel moved operations to China, a decision that helped the business grow and become more efficient.

“Sales just really ramped up from there. Our quality got better. It got easier to make better shoes,” Gebel said. “We weren’t manufacturing nearly as much and then we could concentrate more on shipping and getting stuff out.”

Today, a team of over a dozen employees work out of Hoy Shoe’s office and warehouse on Kemper Avenue in St. Louis’ Southwest Garden neighborhood. Before 1979, Hoy Shoe was on Washington Avenue with all the other manufacturers.

Stepping into Hoy Shoe headquarters, it’s no mystery the business is still family-owned and operated. A cat named O’Malley can be found meandering from room to room and the office is dotted with toys for Gebel’s young granddaughter. Some workers have been with the company for decades.

Gebel said he sees it as a responsibility to keep Hoy Shoe going in the family. He hopes his daughter Kaitlin Antisdel, the secretary/treasurer and the company’s fourth generation, will one day take over the business.

“I hope it’s still going when I’m dead and gone,” Gebel said.

Though Antisdel said she never felt pressure to be part of the brand, she said she likes working with her family.

“I think it’s made us stronger and it makes me appreciate this brand,” she said. “It’s close to my heart and I want to see it successful.”

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