For Mark Lardie, receiving a top honor from Two Ten Footwear Foundation is a “humbling” moment.
On June 2, the executive — who retired last month from his role as president and chief executive officer of Rack Room Shoes after a roughly 45-year career in footwear — will be recognized for his longtime service to Two Ten when he receives the A.A. Bloom Memorial Award at the annual gala.
“[This award] was a surprise. And when you look back at the previous winners, it’s a pretty incredible group of people [next to which] I pale in comparison,” Lardie explained with characteristic humility.
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“The most difficult thing is, sort of, the unbelievable boldness of it,” said the executive, who tended to avoid the spotlight as a chief executive. And while he’s contributed to Two Ten throughout his career, both financially and as a board member, Lardie was quick to add that “it wasn’t leading to something like this.”
Lardie noted that his commitment to Two Ten stems from a personal belief in the nonprofit’s core mission to help shoe people whenever they are in need. “It’s amazing what they’ve been able to accomplish. I don’t know why everyone wouldn’t want to figure a way to support the organization,” he explained.
Additionally, service has been at the center of Rack Room Shoes’ ethos, as defined by its parent company, The Deichmann Group.
“We’ve got a great owner with an unbelievable vision for our company and the group in total. It starts with this simple statement that the company exists to serve people,” Lardie said. “That extends to everybody. It’s certainly about serving our customers, the people who shop in our stores, but it’s also about our associates. We like to make sure we have an environment where they can grow and maximize themselves for as long as they want to stay. And we’re here to serve people in the local communities where we have stores, so we reach out through charitable partners.”
Shawn Osborne, president and CEO of Two Ten, said Lardie has been an invaluable partner. “There are people who really walk the talk,” he said. “The culture he’s helped create at Rack Room is incredible, and it’s grounded in generosity and care. That culture has carried over to their long-standing support of Two Ten and his belief in our mission.”
Lardie took over leadership of Rack Room Shoes in 2012 after previously holding executive leadership positions at Caleres, Famous Footwear, Footstar’s Athletic Division and The Athlete’s Foot. During his tenure, the private footwear chain has grown both its physical presence and its standing within the industry, expanding nationwide with more than 500 locations under the Rack Room Shoes and Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse banners.
He also has steered the company through unprecedented change and upheaval the past few years, starting with the global pandemic. He described that experience as a testing ground for retailers. “Once you’ve figured your way through [COVID] — I mean, the tariffs are tough and the supply chain shock was tough and now the war and rising oil prices, but they all pale in comparison to closing all your stores for a period. [The pandemic] helped everybody realize that what seems like a catastrophe today is probably just another set of challenges that we have laid out in front of us, and so we try to be calm and carry on.”
In terms of his leadership style, Lardie said he sought to empower people at Rack Room by establishing guidelines and then giving them the freedom to grow and develop as leaders.
And in his mind, the star of the show is always the team.
“It was more important to make sure that we were building a strong team and organization. That was the most important thing, as opposed to being the figurehead,” said Lardie, who is being succeeded by former Famous Footwear executive Mike Edwards. He also doesn’t give much thought to his legacy at the company but hopes he can be a model for quiet leadership. “There’s a way that you can contribute, not only to your organization but to the footwear industry,” said Lardie. “If you do the right things on a consistent basis for a long period of time, it does get noticed.”