STOKE Shoes Taps Barrett Distribution For Growth Push
STOKE Shoes, a footwear brand built around wide and extra-wide fits for men, has selected Barrett Distribution Centers as its third-party logistics partner. The Franklin, Massachusetts-based company announced the agreement on Aug. 28, positioning it as a key step in STOKE’s plan to scale beyond its current retail and online footprint.
The partnership covers omnichannel fulfillment, including direct-to-consumer shipping and retail distribution support, as STOKE expands its presence across the country. Founded in 2025, STOKE launched with a direct-to-consumer sales model before moving into brick-and-mortar retail, and its shoes are now carried in more than 450 stores nationwide. Company founder Rick Blackshaw said Barrett’s team communicated clearly and understood the operational needs of a startup brand preparing for rapid growth, citing the logistics provider’s technology guidance and hands-on approach during the transition.
Barrett will handle a range of services for STOKE, including business-to-consumer and business-to-business fulfillment, pick-and-pack operations, warehousing, managed transportation, and retail compliance reporting. The go-live for the account took place at Barrett’s Montebello, California facility, which STOKE representatives pointed to as a factor in their decision, alongside the facility’s operational organization and the company’s broader technology-enabled reporting systems. Scott Hothem, Barrett’s senior vice president of customer solutions, said the company was chosen because STOKE needed more than basic fulfillment, requiring a partner familiar with footwear operations and capable of supporting both online and wholesale growth simultaneously.
STOKE’s expansion plans extend beyond logistics. The brand recently added sports media personality Caleb Pressley, known for his interview series and digital content work, as creative lead and partner. That collaboration is expected to produce marketing campaigns and content, along with a signature STOKE shoe slated for release later this year, broadening the brand’s visibility across retail, digital and cultural platforms.
The footwear industry has seen growing interest in fit-specific products, as brands increasingly target consumers whose foot shapes fall outside standard sizing charts. Industry data cited by footwear companies has long suggested a mismatch between the proportion of men with wider feet and the availability of wide-width options on shelves, creating an opening for niche brands willing to specialize. STOKE’s positioning around width categories rather than traditional medium sizing reflects that broader trend toward personalized comfort products in an athletic and casual footwear market that remains highly competitive.
For young direct-to-consumer brands moving into wholesale retail, choosing the right logistics partner is often considered a critical inflection point. Scaling from online-only shipping to supporting hundreds of retail accounts requires inventory systems, transportation networks and compliance capabilities that many startups do not build in-house. Third-party logistics providers like Barrett, which has been recognized multiple times on Inc. magazine’s list of fastest-growing private companies, have positioned themselves as infrastructure partners for emerging apparel and footwear labels navigating that exact transition.
Barrett Distribution Centers describes itself as a national provider serving apparel, footwear, consumer products, food and beverage, and health and beauty clients, offering customized warehousing and fulfillment solutions. The company said its work with STOKE reflects its broader strategy of supporting high-growth brands as they expand across multiple sales channels.
This report is based on information from a press release distributed via PR Newswire, as detailed in the original announcement.
