Build it and they will come: A shoe diva's dream come true

Can you imagine a shoe store in New York City so big, 8,500-square-feet in fact, that it needs its own zip code? Well, that's what Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS), is claiming it will give the privileged folks of the city. The entire eighth floor of its flagship Manhattan store will now be devoted to shoes -- that's roughly the size of one and a half American football fields. Your boots better be made for walking. That's a lot of shoes.

While Saks didn't do so well when pitted against Nordstrom in our own Battle of the Brands, My BloggingStocks colleague Joseph Lazzaro noted that Saks Inc., with a market capitalization of $2.2 billion, is up about 15% to $20.50 so far in 2007.

One can imagine that this expansion can only serve to make many a happy sole, if not a better gain in the market for Saks.

But as impressive as the expansion is, Saks won't be the first to offer a zip-code worth of shoes. Springfield, Missouri's Bass Pro headquarters is so large that it also has its own postal code (according to popular legend, anyway). And it won't be the biggest shoe store, either. That accolade goes to Reyers, in Sharon, Penn, which carries more than 150,000 pairs of shoes from a 36,000-square-foot revamped grocery store.

But considering how dear real estate is in Manhattan, Saks' move has excited the well-shod women of New York, many of whom have no doubt already entered the August 1 opening into their Blackberries. I can't lie. I'm waiting for the big event myself. My only concern? Where am I going to fit all those cute new shoes?