ell us about your shop(s), the local area, your customers and their requirements? The premises are located in Tuam, Co. Galway in the West of Ireland. Currently we have four full time staff and two part timers. We are very lucky to have a very low turnover of staff. Pat Daly has been with me for over 22 years. The local area is farmland , but Galway city provides much employment and we have a number of highly successful national and multi- national factories in the town. We supply footwear from cradle to grave!! From pre walkers to Wellington boots, safety footwear, sports, dancing and everything in between. The local area is mainly agricultural with a mix of light industry , our customers require, good value footwear that fit them properly, at reasonable prices with excellent service, which we try our best to provide.
2. Where are your premises located and how many people do you employ?Do you have a high turnover of staff? T
3. Do you have an online shop/website and do you use social networking for business? No, not an on-line shop , but use Social media i.e Twitter. And facebook.
4. How are you finding the footwear market currently? Trade at the moment is VERY challenging, after 33 years you would imagine we should be getting much better. The basics are fine, but the fashion side is difficult, how can one predict in February/March what will sell next December ??? As the shoe fair season approaches it is hard not to be upbeat, but we must work together with suppliers and factories. The retail is exciting, BUT also can be very unpredictable. I realise that the fact we own our premises is a great benefit, but I’m not ‘shoer’ if I could survive if we had to pay an economic rent.
5. What’s selling well? Any particular trends? Which are your best selling footwear brands – and why? “Good Footwear” always sells, what is that ?? I hear you ask ?? Merchandise that FITS !!!! Might sound obvious, but ask any retailer, can’t get enough of the winners, yet my shelves are full. Clarks, Startrite, Hotter, Dubarry, Hush Puppies, Josef Siebel, Susst , Sponge, brands are important, but the service we get from UKD is STB - Simply The Best.
6. Does your shop sell other items besides footwear , bags,
gloves, tights, socks, below the ankle products? Yes, we sell bags, not really into big names, but Ara have beautiful range of bags for SS12, tights, socks, buckets of insoles, heel grips, party feet, laces etc. Michael James is always “haunting” me at Moda and the Golf to buy only his sundries, but I try to give one or two others some business.
7 . Any difficulties/problems?
LOADS, how many pages can I have?? Seriously, carton lots, top of the pile, staff rosters, once upon a time you could predict your busy times, Now, that’s impossible. RETURNS, not worns or faulty, just people changing their minds, after you have re ordered a number of these. Also the lack of respect that the general public have for their own feet, it really baffles me. Another bugbear, EXCESSIVE packaging in shoe boxes, yes merchandise must be protected, but polystyrene fillers that crumble on extraction are a real pain in the bunion.
8. Any tips on stock offers, novel ideas for clearing lines or advice for independent shoe retailers who might be feeling the pinch? A wise old saying “never buy another person’s headache” and there is a counter saying about meat and poison. Become the best store person you can be, i.e. spend as much time on the ground floor or in the stockroom, watch what you have , after all your stock is probably your biggest asset, especially if you are leasing your premises, so maximise every penny of its value, the public won’t thank you if you “give” it away for half nothing. It really upsets me to see retailers going into SALE too early, they are ruining the industry.
9. What is your favourite men’s footwear brand/manufacturer – ditto ladies/
children’s brand – and why?
This requires two answers, i.e. favourite brand to wear/look at or favourite brands that are commercial and put the wine in the cellar. A difficult one to answer, I used to love what KMB and Hispanitias were doing, but my customers are looking for something else. For Ladies, it has to be HOTTER, I have been to Skem a number of times and the enthusiasm and passion they have is wonderful. For children, it has to be STARTRITE, I believe what they are trying to do is the way to go, call me old fashioned, I don’t have a problem with that. But, when you see eight year old girls with bunions , which they weren’t born with, it really saddens me. If I had any influence, I would NOT allow unqualified people to sell children’s shoes. On the men’s side, I wear Dubarry boating range for casual wear. But, I love to wear traditional hand-made welted shoes, preferable Irish or British made, as I believe that these skill MUST be protected and nurtured. I did a shoe repair course myself in 2010 and I hope to further that up skilling process in the coming year.
10. How do you select your products – which criteria do you use / what are your customers looking for? I reckon about half our sales are basic “bread and butter” styles, walking shoes, work wear, wellies, slippers, etc. Our customer base is very diverse, so the plan is to play safe , but add a bit of “panache” every season, however the panache can end up costing more money that it makes. The number one criteria is: will it fit/sell, how many re-calls do we get in our industry ? Very few. Next up is MARGIN, too many BUSY FOOLS in this industry, selling decent shoes for a couple of pounds profit is foolhardy and degrading. I try to go for Quality, Value, Fit and margin.
11. Which footwear /fashion shows do you attend,
how do you rate them? Moda twice a year, our own ISRA fair in Ireland, Micam every second year or so, I have been to the world Shoe Show in Las Vegas a couple of times, well worth a visit if you have the time and the Dollars!
12. Do you have a favourite footwear agent? Of course, but couldn’t possibly say so in public.
13. Have you always had a passion for footwear? How many pairs of shoes do you own? Do you have a favourite pair? Well, if you count golf shoes, cycling shoes, trainers, riding/jod boots currently in use, I’d say around 50, about 10% that my wife Susie has on the go!!! Yes, it not just a passion it’s a disease, I am trying to stop myself looking at shoes in Church, at the bank, when we are on holidays or out for a meal. But, I am failing miserably, I tell Susie it’s all professional research, especially if the shoes are high and belong to a lovely pair of legs. My favourite pair is a Winstanley (sadly no longer with us) white nubuck London brogue style, hand - made in Dublin in the early eighties. Not ‘shoer’ if I could wear them in public at home, perhaps, on holidays.
14. Any famous customers? The Sawdoctors, my Dad used to say that Mick Jagger came into the shop when he was here in the 60’s, but sadly no evidence.
15. And, the next step? Any plans for the future, new lines, retail systems/new technology, etc.? I expect the next few seasons to be even tougher than before, but if the man above spares the health, then we will come through. As we have had the RTL Pulse system for the past number of years, I believe that this the best EPOS around, especially for retail footwear. The short term plan is to weed out the underperforming brands, this may be difficult as many of the suppliers/reps./agents are friends and the news might not be to their liking. The world has been turned on its head, BUT the retailers still have to put up with the same old 2 and 4 pence , it’s time to start a peaceful revolution!!!I really love the business, it is very challenging, you are constantly dealing with three seasons merchandise so boredom is not an issue.
FEBRUARY 2012 • FOOTWEAR TODAY
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