A Gunma shoemaker's crowdfunded toe-gripping shoe reaches its first department-store floor

BMZ, a footwear maker based in Minakami, a town in Gunma Prefecture, said it will put its Grabbing Shoes ROOTS on a department-store floor for the first time, selling the shoe from October 26 on the fifth-floor sports and golf goods section of Yokohama Takashimaya. The knit-upper shoe, priced at 13,200 yen tax included, comes in six colourways and runs from 21.0cm to 29.5cm, according to the company.

ROOTS is built around what BMZ calls "grabbing theory" -- foot-function research and patented technology the company says lets the toes actively grip the ground rather than simply cushioning the foot -- and reached the market through crowdfunding rather than a conventional launch: a July 2026 campaign for the Grabbing Shoes line drew more than 15 million yen in pledges, BMZ said. At the Yokohama counter, staff will offer product guidance until 6pm daily and let shoppers compare the standard insole against an optional carbon-fibre version the company says is designed to support the arch from the cuboid bone.

A shoe built around a patented fit theory is a hard sell on a product page alone, which is why a single department-store counter, rather than a chain rollout or a store of its own, is the usual route an unlisted regional manufacturer takes to find out whether an online following converts into people trying shoes on in person. Where ROOTS goes next on Japan's sales floors depends on how that one counter performs.