407. ZENCO FOOTSTEP: We Shoe The Philippines, 1983

ZENCO FOOTSTEP CORPORATE AD, 1983

The shoe store that boomed in the 80s and 90s selling such brands as Mighty Kid, Islander and Kaypee, started back in 1957 as Zenco Commercial (ZENCO) , a distributor of footwear founded by Yao Khapu. From a tiny store in Binondo, and later in Caloocan, Khapu moved to Divisoria to open his  first ZENCO FOOTSTEP on 26 May 1961. A strong marketing network propelled ZENCO FOOTSTEP’s business, pushing its diverse footwear and shoemaking products in major markets  nationwide.

 WATCH A 1991 ZENCO TVC HERE:

Courtesy: RoofDev Studios

When ZENCO partnered with Rubberworld Philippines in 1981, business grew even more, and soon ZENCO FOOTSTEP became the place to go for Rubberworld products that became hugely popular with the young and sport set, including Grosby, Adidas, Spartan sandals, Kaypee, Dockmaster, Mighty Kid shoes and fashions.

The closure of Rubberworld due to the financial crisis, the pull-out of Addias, and the renewed effort of SM stores to regain its foothold of the footwear business by building its giant malls  in 1990s, put a halt to ZENCO’s amazing run. Through all these, ZENCO FOOTSTEP remains in business today—more modest, but still viable-- in a few, but choice locations nationwide.

 SOURCES:

Zenco Footstep weebly: http://zfootsteps.weebly.com/about-us.html

 A short history of Zenco Footstep, https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/zenco-footstep-history-a00289-20220615

 Zenco Footstep TVC (1991) (Effects and footages), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNjf5jvpIrg, Uploaded by RoofDev Studios