Products For Short People

Being usually one of the shortest person in a group of people, I’m continuously reminded by myself of just how short I am and how it affects my daily activities in life. Like it or not, there are disadvantages to being a short person.

I tried a simple Google search using the keywords: “store for short guys” and I can’t help but smile. There are indeed stores that specialize at least in short persons! The mere existence of these specialist stores gives proof that there is a market for clothes for short persons.

I really became aware of this market when I lived in Australia, a very multicultural country. In this country, I see how physically different people are from country to country. There would be people from one country who are dark skinned and other people who are fair skinned.

But this didn’t bother me. What bothered me was the varying heights of people which could be very extreme. I usually encounter situations where the tall caucasians of Australia mix with the short Asian immigrants like me.

Nothing reminds me of how short I am than when I’m riding a train or a bus on my way or going back from work every weekday. During the weekdays, the trains and buses are usually packed that I have no recourse but to stand inside the train or bus as it travels.

I don’t know if you’ve already guessed my problem, but the overhead hand rails of trains and buses are out of reach by short people. As a result, short people have to hold on to the top edge of the seats where the other passengers are already sitting in.

This is not only an awkward situation for both the passenger sitting but especially for the short person who has to avoid touching the back of the head of the person sitting. I can still remember the angry stares of the passengers whose head I accidentally touched.

This situation is not only in Australia but in other countries like the Philippines where the buses are not locally made but are purchased from other countries who follow the height standard of caucasian countries.

And based from my train and bus experience from both Australia and the Philippines, I can say that many short people are experiencing this problem. There certainly is a market for such products which can help short people as they have to stand on trains and buses.

When I was living in Australia, I found out among the immigrant community and even short Australians that I know that the clothing industry primarily caters to the sizes of the taller people.

As a result, short people like me have to buy our clothes from overseas markets whenever we go overseas. This is no big news to me, but having heard the same information from actual short Australians who were actually born in Australia, I easily concluded that their predicament were the same as mine.

In fact, one reason why immigrants buy from Asian owned clothing shops is because these shops cater to their sizes. If I were to buy from an Australian owned clothing shop, chances are that I would be pointed to the children’s clothing section which I might say is embarrassing.

And yes, that’s the truth, I and a number of short friends of mine have been pointed many times to the children’s clothing section of Australian clothing shops not to insult us, but this is the only option available for us.

For countries like Australia which is becoming very multicultural, the businesspeople should take notice of our growing numbers in terms of consumer purchasing power. This applies to both male and female short people whether immigrants or naturally born Australians.

There is nothing new about these kinds of shoes. As long as short people have existed, there have been elevator shoes. However, these shoes have a seemingly negative image. This issue has to do with a person’s “authenticity”.

Many people believe that short person is being deceitful when they wear elevator shoes. This is because elevator shoes are usually constructed in such a way that they would look just like any other shoe while hiding the thick padding which makes their wearer look taller.

This is the reason why despite their huge advantage over normal shoes, they have never reached any critical market share of the shoes market. Even today, they are considered as niche products mainly appealing to short people.

Another reason why they have not really gained mass market appeal is because these shoes are not really that comfortable. This is because in these shoe’s design to make them appear just like normal shoes, they exchange wearer comfort for the height gain of the wearer.

This is because in the usual design of such shoes, the front of the shoe is just like a normal shoe while the rear sole of the shoe is elevated. This means that the wearer has to arch their feet when they wear this shoes which not only result in discomfort but also pain often.

If a short person is not trying to hide the fact that they are wearing height increasing shoes, they can elect to wear tall boots if they are men or women or high heels if they are women. I’m a man and have no experience wearing high heels or short heels for that matter.

One thing I know though is that it is very hard to wear high heels even for the women who are used to wearing them. When I was young, I also wore tall boots for a short time and I could say that they were very uncomfortable to walk with.

But these two products are not really meant just for short people, but for all people in general. This is because these two kinds of shoes have become identified with stylish and fashionable people, especially the high heels for women.

This means that instead of just attracting the market for short people, you are also attracting the market for fashion conscious people. While this might seem like good news, remember that there are already a lot of people trying to attract the same market.

Imagine if a short person has to wear tall boots or high heels while taking the train or bus, since these shoes are difficult to maintain someone’s balance with, the wearer of these shoes is likely to trip while trying to maintain their balance as they stand on a train or bus.

As a short person, I have bought and used several kinds of such shoes and I would not replace them with elevator shoes nor tall boots. This is because it is easier to balance and walk wearing these shoes.

If you were a businessperson and is marketing shoes for short people like people in such countries as the Philippines and Peru, it is noteworthy to think how short some of the people in these countries are and why it could be a good business for you.

In fact, in the popular e-commerce platforms in the Philippines, Korean and Chinese shoe sellers which sell thick soled shoes abound. This may be an indication of how popular these shoes are in Asia.

I am in fact the owner of a couple of these thick soled shoes. I bought the unisex type and I realized what is going on in the mind of shoe collectors whenever they buy thick soled or any height adding shoes.

By wearing this relatively uncomfortable yet happiness inducing shoes, the wearers feel special for a short period of time. Anyone who has worn such shoes would remember how it feels to feel taller by being able to see more and reach longer distances with their increased height.

And this is the reason why there is a strong demand for shoe insoles. The market for this seemingly simple product is US$ 3.25 billion according to a few online industry reporting websites.

As you can see, shoe insoles are no laughing matter. They beat out more complex industries such as the trash compactor industry which only have global sales of US$ 450 million. As you can see, just because a product is simple it doesn’t mean profits are small as well.

The shoe insole market is also projected to grow at 6.1% between 2020 to 2027. Despite the ongoing pandemic and people staying in their homes, sales of these products which are used for walking are still increasing well.

The reason may be simple. A consumer may not have the money to buy new shoes but would definitely have spare change to buy shoe insoles. Besides, shoe insoles help with making shoes fit better for the wearer.

And of course, for short people like me, they add a small amount of height in our shoes. I buy shoe insoles to make my new and old shoes more comfortable for me to wear and for them to also add a few centimeters to my height.

Another thing which I wanted to buy in Australia but couldn’t find in physical stores where step stools. These small contraptions can be seen in the homes of many people and not only the short ones.

They are usually found in the kitchens of homes were the kitchen cabinets are elevated in such a position that even people of average height can’t reach them. I guess the reason why they are positioned this way is to maximize storage space.

If you think about it, every home, apartment and anywhere where people live should have at least one step stool. It doesn’t matter how tall you are, there would definitely come a time when you would need a step stool to reach something.

An accompaniment to step stools would be arm reacher tools. I am in fact surprised why step stools and arm reacher tools are not sold in tandem. They complement each other. Both are also simple products.

One thing I would like to get invented is a train or bus overhead hand rail gripper. I don’t mean the one already present in trains or buses which are always in short supply when the train or bus is packed, but something you can bring with you.

I don’t know if such a product already exists, but if it does and if it works, I’ll certainly buy one. This kind of invention would work for all sorts of people wanting to reach the overhead hand rail of trains and buses like short people and young children.

As I have said, short people most often have to buy clothes from shops that specialize in short people in their own country or buy them from overseas. If I was an immigrant from Asia and now living in Australia, I would certainly appreciate a clothing shop from Asia that can reach Australia.

Though not perfect yet, giant e-commerce sites are making international purchases more affordable than ever. I have seen this first hand where Chinese sellers in eBay sell much cheaper clothes than the clothes available in Australian clothing shops.

The Australians try on the clothes and shoes at Australian shops but don’t buy them. Once they’ve gotten their cloth or shoe size from the Australian shop, they buy them at eBay for a fraction of the cost.

Imagine if an eBay seller from Asia formed a partnership with a clothing and shoe store from Australia. This kind of partnership would not only benefit short people but also all types of people.

This article is more like a wish list for a short person like me or to anyone who have difficulties reaching or grabbing objects in their everyday activities. But as I have said, the market for such devices is growing as most people want more in anything.

As such, not only short people need these things, but even average people. Even a very tall person may find use for a step stool at some point in their life. And as the shoe insoles market growth and size has pointed out, these may be simple needs but a lot of people demand them.

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