Little Shoe Store Faces Big Challenges Online — and Around the Corner
By Elizabeth Merryweather and Matt Schwartz
JACKSON HEIGHTS — Ilan Shoes, at the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and 81st Street, has been serving this changing and diverse Queens neighborhood for 25 years. But recently it has had to deal with the growth in online shopping which cut deeply into its business. Now, Ilan Shoes faces competition from another source: A Target megastore that is slated to open in Jackson Heights in 2019.
All this makes the owner, Tommy Estevez, nervous. He could handle competition from other neighborhood stores, he said, but Ilan Shoes has never had to square up with a multinational retailer. “Competition is good, unless you compete with a giant like Target,” he added.
Mr. Estevez, 52, was philosophical when he was interviewed on a recent hot summer day in his store. “The only constant in life is that everything changes,” he said, reflecting on fashion trends since the store opened in 1993.
The walls and shelves of the store are decked with colorful shoes, from high heels to loafers. Although the store chiefly sells footwear for men and women, it also supplies belts and men’s clothes.
The majority of Ilan’s shoes are shipped from Chinese manufacturers, and sell for between $10 and $100. Mr. Estevez doesn’t stock up on name-brand products. Rather, he buys footwear that he believes fits his customer’s style and needs.
When he first opened the store, he said, roughly 70 percent of his customers were Colombian. However, that statistic has fallen to about 30 percent over time. Mr. Estevez and his sole employee, Jovani Cardozo, now interact with a different customer base; people from South America, India, China, and Korea come into Ilan Shoes, which reflects the diversity of the Jackson Heights.
During the three years Mr. Cardozo has worked at Ilan Shoes, he has noticed a decline in business. Mr. Estevez had been making steady income for many years, but he admitted that, “the last three years have been the toughest.” His sales have dropped by approximately 30 percent, he said.
The increase in online retail shopping and the power of big, chain stores are contributing factors. Ilan Shoes does not have a presence online, and large companies such as Amazon have been overshadowing local businesses.
In the past, Mr. Estevez was able to take time off from the store, but he now works seven days a week, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., determined to make up the money he has lost. “I’m going to turn this business around and when the economy starts going up, I’m going to double my money,” he said.
Though his business has taken a hit in recent years, it has managed to survive for 25 years, a rarity for new businesses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 50 percent of small businesses fail in their first five years due to factors such as cash flow problems, lack of a market for their product, and being out outcompeted.
Mr. Estevez explained that starting a small business was easier when he founded Ilan Shoes in 1990s because rent was lower, and online shopping didn’t exist.
Mr. Estevez immigrated with his family from the Dominican Republic to the United States in 1976, when he was 10 years old. In high school, Mr. Estevez began working part-time for Mike’s Fashion, a clothing store on Junction Boulevard, about 10 blocks from Ilan Shoes.
“I like to dress up,” said Mr. Estevez, who started working in retail to avoid smelling like restaurant grease or wearing a uniform.
Working at Mike’s Fashion, Mr. Estevez gained valuable experiences and learned about managing a retail business. When the store was sold to a new owner, his previous boss said to “keep Tommy.” Mr. Estevez’s expertise and strong customer relationships made him a valuable asset to the new owner, who was unfamiliar with the business.
After seven years at Mike’s Fashion, Mr. Estevez realized that all he needed was money to start his own business. A loan from his uncle helped Mr. Estevez kick start Ilan Shoes; he was able to pay back his uncle within a year and a half.
Mr. Cardozo is currently Ilan’s only other employee, and he considers Mr. Estevez a role model, both in business and in life. “Tommy is like my second dad,” he said.
Mr. Estevez’s biological children have also contributed to the store. When his kids were younger, they sometimes worked in the shop alongside their father. However, Mr. Estevez constantly reminded his children that their first priority should be attending college. Now his daughter goes to New York University and his son is a student at the State University of New York at Purchase.
Mr. Estevez is proud to send his children to college; while he dreamed of studying to become an engineer, his own parents couldn’t afford college tuition.
But Mr. Estevez has no regrets. He pursued a career as an entrepreneur and is proud of his life’s work. “You’ll never become what you want, you will become what you believe you are,” he said.
Mr. Estevez has beaten the odds for many years, but it is not clear that he can keep his lucky streak going. He expects that the next three years will determine if his business stays afloat. But he is dedicated to Ilan Shoes even with the looming threat of Target. “I’m planning to keep it as long as I can,” he said.
