Franklin & Poe's Andrew Li on Where Retail's Going, Malls, and The Perfect White Tee
Tue Dec 16 2025
My chat this week is with Andrew Li of Philadelphia’s Franklin & Poe, one of the best shops in the US for serious quality footwear, denim, and more.
I got to know Andrew over the last few years the old fashioned way—seeing him in person, sitting down, and chatting entirely too deeply about some boots and shoes and denim. Which is pretty much exactly what Andrew and team have done every day since 2016 with customers in Philly’s Fishtown neighborhood, both at their original location and the new shop they had opened only days before we taped this episode.
On the episode, Andrew and I chatted about that dedication not just to customer service but also creating a place for enthusiasts to find a real community, how to build out a top notch footwear brand list, the quest for a perfect white t-shirt, where brick & mortar retail is going and how it might thrive again, and his three pairs he’d keep forever if it came down to it. Oh and malls. We talk a lot about malls.
Also sandwiches. Philly does good sandwiches.
https://franklinandpoe.com/
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
https://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/
A website. We have one.
https://www.stitchdown.com/
2026 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 4—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
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My chat this week is with Andrew Li of Philadelphia’s Franklin & Poe, one of the best shops in the US for serious quality footwear, denim, and more. I got to know Andrew over the last few years the old fashioned way—seeing him in person, sitting down, and chatting entirely too deeply about some boots and shoes and denim. Which is pretty much exactly what Andrew and team have done every day since 2016 with customers in Philly’s Fishtown neighborhood, both at their original location and the new shop they had opened only days before we taped this episode. On the episode, Andrew and I chatted about that dedication not just to customer service but also creating a place for enthusiasts to find a real community, how to build out a top notch footwear brand list, the quest for a perfect white t-shirt, where brick & mortar retail is going and how it might thrive again, and his three pairs he’d keep forever if it came down to it. Oh and malls. We talk a lot about malls. Also sandwiches. Philly does good sandwiches. https://franklinandpoe.com/ Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership https://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/ A website. We have one. https://www.stitchdown.com/ 2026 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 4—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon. https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/