The Mission

Changing People’s Lives with Pain Relief Footwear is the Z-CoiL motto, and our mission. Our ultimate goal is to bring relief to everyone, everywhere, who suffers from foot, leg, or back pain.

It all started when Alvaro Z. Gallegos, an avid runner, began to experience a great deal of knee and back pain. Al realized that he needed some sort of protection against this type of pain and injury, so he embarked on a journey to develop a shoe that would not only cushion the shock of impact to his body, but could also be adjusted to compensate for other foot, leg and back problems. After many years of research and experimentation, Al created Z-CoiL^® footwear—and found he had launched a whole new Pain Relief Footwear™ industry.

In no time, the Z-CoiL Footwear company Al founded began to expand rapidly. Independent Z-CoiL^® dealers were opening their own stores around the country, most of them devoted customers eager to bring to others the same amazing pain relief they had experienced themselves.

It was because of the special pain-relieving properties of Z-CoiL^® footwear, in fact, and the importance of achieving a personalized fit, that the company chose to sell its shoes only through dedicated retail stores by authorized Z-CoiL^® dealers who were trained in our custom-fitting process.

Ultimately, Z-CoiL Footwear also made the decision to franchise its retail stores in order to increase awareness of the Z-CoiL^® brand, as well as improve operational consistency throughout our distribution network. Many of our existing dealers have since adopted our unique franchise model, while enthusiastic new franchisees continue to open additional    Z-CoiL^® Pain Relief Footwear™ stores. We now have over 140 distributors in 44 states, as well as Canada and Puerto Rico, and that number is steadily growing.

Al Gallegos’ persistence and his determination to bring Pain Relief Footwear™ to the world has inspired many of our distributors to join the Z-CoiL family. We hope you will join us in our quest to build a business that changes people’s lives.

The Market

Americans are in Pain
Z-CoiL is on a mission to bring relief to every person who suffers from foot, leg, or back pain—no small task, considering that:

• About 75% of Americans will experience some type of foot problem in their lives.¹
• Impact to the body is up to 1.5 times a person’s body weight when walking and 3 to 6 times their weight when running.² Think of the daily pounding experienced by nearly 60% of adult Americans who are overweight or obese!³
• Up to 80% of people will suffer from lower back pain at some point in their lives.⁴
• The “Baby Boomer” generation, representing about 28% of the U.S. population,⁵ is fast approaching retirement, many having worn poorly designed footwear for decades.
• Many people work on their feet on hard, unforgiving floors: nurses, teachers, retail clerks, line workers, restaurant personnel, casino workers, security guards. The list is endless.

Z-CoiL^® Offers Relief
For many of these people, Z-CoiL^® footwear becomes the only viable option for pain relief. We’ve received hundreds of testimonials from Z-CoiL^® customers who claim that, without their Z-CoiL^® footwear, they cannot walk or work without pain.

Z-CoiL^® Customers Spread the Word
Because of the strong devotion of our customers (not to mention the unique appearance of our shoes), the shoes themselves become a walking advertisement. People often stop and ask Z-CoiL^®-wearers what they have on their feet, and they typically hear an enthusiastic testimonial, followed by directions to the nearest Z-CoiL^® store! Such powerful word-of-mouth referrals are key to the Z-CoiL^® retailer opportunity.

¹ American Podiatric Medical Association [http://www.apma.org/s_apma/doc.asp?CID=371&DID=9406]
²Patricia A. Kirk, The Rugged Walker. (Champagne, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers, 1998), 4.
³Health A to Z [http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/dc/caz/nutr/obes/alert08032004.jsp]
⁴WebMD^® {http://www.webmd.com/content/article/90/100885.htm]
⁵Baby Boomer Headquarters [http://www.bbhq.com/bomrstat.htm]

The Benefits

Incredible Potential
The potential market for Z-CoiL^® Pain Relief Footwear™ is vast—and still largely untapped—when you consider the number of people who commonly experience foot, leg, or back pain: aging Baby Boomers, people who are overweight, and those who work on their feet all day. You’ll be getting in on the ground floor of an industry that is still in its infancy with a product that offers the potential for remarkable growth.

Emotional Rewards
Every day you’ll be helping to improve the quality of your customers’ lives by helping to relieve their pain. Few business opportunities provide such a wonderful sense of satisfaction.

Freedom and Flexibility
The Z-CoiL^® retailer opportunity is as unique as our footwear. In honor of our founder’s own entrepreneurial spirit, we impose fewer controls on the way you run your business than do other, more traditional franchises. This allows you greater freedom to run your business as you see fit, including having some flexibility in the way you design your store.

Minimal Fees
A nominal initial franchise fee of $15,000.00 and no marketing fees allows you to roll your profits back into your business. There is a 20% discounts for honorably discharged veterans, bringing the initial fee to $12,000. Even your royalty fee is waived the first year, as well as every year thereafter that you purchase a minimal amount of inventory.

Marketing Communications Program
Where other franchises charge a monthly fee for Marketing Expenses,   Z-CoiL Footwear returns a percentage of your footwear purchases toward a Marketing Communications Program budget to assist you with the expense of advertising.

A Schedule to Suit Your Lifestyle
Unlike many around-the-clock franchise operations, your Z-CoiL^® store needs to be open only 46 hours a week, and may be closed on holidays.

Customer Referrals
The loyal devotion of Z-CoiL^® customers leads to repeat business and becomes your greatest source of referred business through powerful word-of-mouth promotion.

Retailers are Key
Z-CoiL^® Pain Relief Footwear™ is sold solely through our retailer network—not through mail-order or the Internet. We strive to build and maintain a solid, mutually-supportive relationship with each and every one of our retailers.

Assurances
As a Z-CoiL^® Retailer, your store territory is guaranteed, and there is no limit on the number of five-year terms you may renew, provided you remain in good standing.

Training
A 5-day, comprehensive training program is provided for you and your store manager.

Strong Corporate Support
You will be assigned a corporate liaison who is dedicated to your continued success and will be your point of communication with the company. A retailer support website provides ongoing assistance through an interactive forum of your peers, a bi-monthly newsletter, and a marketing toolkit. You will receive a wide array of collateral marketing materials, and you will be invited to attend an annual Distributors Conference. A Distributor Advisory Group has also been formed to represent your interests and concerns.