Footwear Brand Naot Maintains Support for Israeli Community Despite Store Staff Exodus

The devastating Israel-Hamas war has led to conflict throughout the U.S., including for the brand Naot Footwear.

The Israeli shoe maker, which has two stores in New York, confirmed to FN this week that the staff at its Manhattan flagship in SoHo “did resign or refused to fulfill their responsibility of servicing customers” at a recent event benefitting the Israeli community.

However, Ayelet Lax Levy, president of U.S. operations for Naot Footwear, said the store was able to recover quickly from the setback. “We were bombarded with resumes and support, and have completely restaffed in the last week,” she told FN via email.

Related Stories

Autry Opens First Resort Destination Flagship in Cannes

Rack Room Taps Former Famous Footwear Exec Mike Edwards as CEO

The company plans to continue to lend its support to the cause with another in-store fundraiser planned for Dec. 17.

Lax Levy said that event will highlight a collective of brands that are manufactured in Israel to support the Israeli economy, which has suffered since the onset of the war. Twenty percent of proceeds from the fundraiser will go toward the Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center, which provides support to women and men of all faiths who have been victims of sexual assault. 

Lax Levy noted that these philanthropic events are core to the brand’s ethos. “Naot has always been a socially active company that provides funding and footwear to homeless shelters, battered women shelters, victims of natural disasters and refugees around the world,” she said.

And with the SoHo store now fully staffed once again, Lax Levy said Naot will continue to host events in its own stores, as well as with other retail partners, to support various charities.  

Naot launched in 1942 from the work of a small collective farming community, or kibbutz, in Israel. In 2014, it was acquired by its U.S. distributor, Yaleet Inc. based in Melville, N.Y., but its footwear continues to be manufactured in a factory in the Upper Galilee region of Northern Israel.

Today, the family-owned business sells its sandals, sneakers and boots in the U.S. primarily through wholesale retail partners — and in its two New York stores.