How well are Barefoot Shoes doing in the market place?

How does one gauge the sales figures of the Barefoot Shoes?

Well, it may be difficult to give precise answers to these questions. But a relative estimation of their popularity is possible. Based on the sales ranks awarded by Amazon.com, I managed to glean the following (these ranks keep changing hourly, and I studied them mid-noon on Saturday, 21 July, 2012).

1.      Out of the top 100 brands amongst Men’s running shoes, Barefoot Shoes tot up 12 brands. That’s pretty impressive for an industry still in its infancy.

2.      The undisputed leader amongst Barefoot Shoes is of course Vibram, with its Fivefinger KomodoSport LS claiming the first slot amongst Barefoot Shoes, and #15 amongst all running shoes. Vibram captures the second place too, with the Bikila ranking #2 in barefoot and 30 overall, establishing a comfortable 18 points lead over Merrell’s Road Glove, which ranks #3 in barefoot and #48 in all running shoes.

3.      But the dark horse in the race is Fila, which entered the fray only in February 2011. Its Slip-on Skele-Toes rank #4 in barefoot, and 51 overall. Fila hogs 3 more places in the top 100, matching Vibram’s tally of 4.

4.      What were Fila’s USPs that buoyed it so fast into the ivy league? Somewhat similar to the FiveFingers, the Skele-Toes have four toe pockets, with the last two members sitting in a single box. This shoe has elicited rave reviews, with many runners finding it more comfortable than the FiveFingers.