Footwear Retailer of the month Cheryl Taylor talks to Lesley Waddy of Children’s footwear retailer Best Feet First
Q&A:
Name: Lesley Waddy Shop(s): Best Feet First Brands: Start-rite; Hush Puppies; Ecco; Superfit; Robeez; Skechers
Home town: Epsom, Surrey Family: Husband, Keith Waddy
1. How did you get into footwear? Tell us about your background and your current business?
My first job was fitting and selling shoes then a career change (or leap), to working in the City’s Financial Sector; then a move to a City firm of Chartered Accountants and then a local firm of Chartered Surveyors; finally coming full circle to fitting and selling footwear. My husband Keith also gave up his long-term career in print and advertising, from serving his apprenticeship and setting up his own business at the age of 21 through to opening our joint business venture in 1993 owning and running a Children’s fitted footwear shop.
2. Where are your premises located and how many people do you employ?Do you have a high turnover of staff? Tell us about your shop(s), the local area, your customers and their requirements?
Our shop is located in the Spread Eagle Walk Shopping Precinct in Epsom and we employ 4 staff. Our staff turnover is minimal. All staff are qualified to Society of Shoe Fitters standard, providing them with a wealth of knowledge pertaining to the shoe fitting industry. We specialise in children’s and young adults fitted shoes and stock approximately 12,000 pairs.
We are situated in an old market town on the Surrey/London borders, surrounded by open green spaces. The local area embraces two large council estates as well as a large selection of houses ranging in price from £260,000 to £5m. The area is also well served by a good selection of private, public and state schools.
Our shop is on the ground floor, allowing easy access for disabled customers, prams and buggies and we have a wealth of knowledge in dealing with children with Special Needs, working closely with The Little Group who teach such children. We have a large, loyal customer base from the locality and surrounding area and offer a loyalty card scheme and twins club discount card.
We also have a good proportion of customers who live abroad on fixed term secondment, currently living in places such as Dubai; Africa; Hong Kong; Singapore; and parts of Europe, who visit us with their children when they are back in the UK on leave. They appreciate the way we treat our customers and the service we provide, and prefer to purchase the higher quality products we stock.
22 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • MAY 2 2012 ARCH011
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