South African safety footwear manufacturer Beier Safety Footwear launched its 2014 range of eight new Sisi safety shoes for women at an event in Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal, earlier this month.

The range caters for the contours of women’s feet and addresses the discomfort that they experience when wearing men’s shoes.

Creative agency Conversation Lab senior account manager Vanessa Ronald, who manages the marketing for Beier, said at the launch that, with the growing number of women entering domains once regarded as the preserve of men, protecting women’s feet had not only become an increasing commodity but also a necessary one to perfect.

“Beier Safety Footwear realised that, if it was going to produce a women’s safety footwear range that would be applauded by the women who wear them, it would have to take the time to get to know these women better. We asked eight women who currently wear safety footwear for their jobs to arrive at a shoot wearing an outfit they have worn to work,” she said.

The research indicated that, in many cases, women were not aware of safety footwear for them, she noted.

They were wearing ill-fitting and uncomfortable men’s safety footwear. Women tended to keep a different pair of shoes with them at all times. Therefore, they had an on-site shoe and an off-site shoe, as their safety shoes were too big, bulky and embarrassing to wear off site.

Beier marketing manager Allan Prinsloo said the company invested in understanding the female foot, which is on average 2.5 cm shorter and narrower than a man’s. He added that the arch, lateral side and ball of the foot were also different.

Beier collaborated with Italian shoe designer Luca Bachet for the new range. The new design includes a new sole shape, lighter shoe weight, a specific thread pattern and ankle support.

Bachet said the design also took into account a woman’s psychological need to retain a sense of femininity.

“We wanted to generate awareness for this sector of the workforce and what they are achieving,” Prinsloo added.

Also speaking at the event was Wolfgang Beier from Beier Safety Footwear, who noted that the safety footwear market share comprised 51% imports – this was a concern that the company would try to combat through developments in 2014.

“We will continue to be innovative and reinforce the strategy of local manu-facturing to benefit our partners. “We will strategically position our busi-ness for growth in 2014 and continue to increase sales and customer service,” he said.