Saipan Shoes expands to twice its size

Saipan Shoes has now expanded to twice the size of its original store and that means more space for owner Lydia Li to display not only shoes but new fashion items.

“Expanding means more selection to meet customers’ needs for shoes and other fashion items. It’s more space for a better shopping experience for our customers,” she said.

Li said they expanded to the former space of Life in Son Fellowship last March 1 and the increase in floor space means customers have more freedom to move around and Saipan Shoes is now able to stock more items.

“With limited space before, customers found it to be difficult to locate their desired items. With the additional space, items are much better sorted and marked. Of course, it’s much easier to move around as well,” she said.

Another added bonus is that Li has brought in over 100 new styles of shoes due to the expansion and that includes more fashion items as well, especially for women.

“We have built an inventory of many fashion items other than shoes, like women’s underwear, bras, and shapewears. I really hope our new items for women will make our woman customers very happy,” she said.

As for embarking on the expansion amidst a still uncertain economy not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of tourists, which is the CNMI’s only economic driver, Li acknowledged that the business climate is challenging but she’s always willing to roll the dice.

“We operate in a challenging business environment. We expanded to attract more customers. Through better customer satisfaction, we hope we can expand the business as well. We plan to have a promotion in the next two weeks to highlight the new inventory,” she said.

Aside from selling a gamut of men’s and women’s shoe styles ranging from dress shoes and safety shoes to running shoes, sports shoes, hiking shoes, and sandals and children’s shoes, Saipan Shoes also sells socks, fashion jewelry, hip bags, baby clothes, shirts for families, and trinkets or small items.

While what they carry are mostly generic brands from China, Saipan Shoes also has the occasional U.S. brand shoes they’ve bought from the U.S. mainland.

Saipan Shoes is located across the U.S. District Court for the NMI at the corner of Middle Road and Gualo Rai Road in Gualo Rai. For more information, call (670) 783-7388.