CONTENTS FROM THE EDITOR
Best of Shows Autumn/Winter 2012/13
I
t is April and the major Autumn/Winter 2012/13 footwear exhibitions are over, at least in Europe. The season has been hectic, with the organisers of Pure London, Moda,
Birmingham and GDS Dusseldorf, all reporting busy shows. The Kensington Shoe Event, closed its doors on March 20th on
yet another successful show. Popular with footwear and fashion buyers, the three-day Event has become a premier show for medium-to-high quality footwear, but it still remains delightfully compact and customer-friendly. Read our review on pages 28-29. The number of styles, innovations, designs and footwear treats
these footwear shows have to offer cannot fail to impress. For the next issue, I’d be very interested to hear your take on the recent shows and which footwear/accessories you bought and why? Also, any problems you have encountered when buying footwear? If you’re looking for some great footwear buys for the guys, check out our Editor’s Choice pages 18-19 for our Best of Shows collection for Autumn/Winter 2012/13. We have a fabulous selection of shoes and boots for your gentlemen customers, fresh from the shoe shows, selected especially for you by yours truly. We are starting a new page this month, called Designer Profile
page 20. In chatting to shoe designers we aim to glean a valuable insight on fashion trends and what’s likely to be flying off your shelves next season. In this edition we profile the shoe designer Debby Cooper, Design Manager of Padders, winners of the ‘Best Comfort Brand’ in the Footwear Industry Awards 2012. Don’t miss our popular Best Sellers and Retailer of the Month
sections. This month it’s the turn of Karen Little of Haswell Shoes, Nuneaton, a member of the Society of Shoefitters and former ‘Student of the Year’. More on pages 24-25. If you would like to join our Best Sellers panel of independent footwear retailers at Footwear Today Magazine, I would be delighted to hear from you, my email address is below. We also bring you some useful advice from fashion law expert
Stephen Sidkin on what footwear businesses should be doing about their Eurozone exposure, more on page 32. Finally, our intrepid footwear reporter Henry Harington
reports on the resurgence of the shiny black shoe – in the form of the Araras shoes from Anatomic & Co.
Best regards, Cheryl
Cheryl Taylor, Editor, Footwear Today
Tel: 01622 862962 Email:
ctaylor@datateam.co.uk
P.S. We have a new website at Footwear Today Magazine, so why not check it out. Visit:
www.footweartoday.co.uk
IFRA, BFA and Society of Shoe Fitters all support Footwear Today as a valuable forum for the footwear industry, helping to promote trade and keeping retailers informed about the latest products and developments.
4 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
NEWS MISFIT TALKING SHOP FOOTWEAR FOCUS EDITOR’S CHOICE (BEST OF SHOWS MEN’S) DESIGNER PROFILE GDS REVIEW BEST SELLERS RETAILER OF THE MONTH KENSINGTON REVIEW CHERRY BLOSSOM FASHION LAW
FRONT COVER: CHERRY BLOSSOM APRIL 2012
Cherry Blossom Premium has one of the most comprehensive Insole ranges within the Footwear Sector. The Soft Cotton Foot-Bed
featured is just part of a ‘Cool Collection’ of Summer Insoles designed to help keep feet
fresh and hygienic throughout the warm season.
www.cherryblossom.co.uk
barefoot sensation with cherry blossom
www.footweartoday.co.uk
Inside this issue: Editor’s Choice, Best of Shows Men’s footwear – Footwear Focus, Anatomic Kensington, GDS and Chic Reviews and Best Sellers
EDITOR Cheryl Taylor:
ctaylor@datateam.co.uk CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Adam Bernstein FEATURE WRITERS: Henry Harington Dawn Smith Vicky Kember Joe Maggio Emma Cooke JOURNAL MANAGER John Andrews: 01622 699135
jandrews@datateam.co.uk ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER Sue Wiseman: 01622 699185
swiseman@datateam.co.uk DESIGNER Steve Parks ADMINISTRATION Ellie Inchmore PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Paul Ryder:
pryder@datateam.co.uk
Media Partner of the STAG Buying Group
Published by: Datateam Business Media Ltd, London Road, Maidstone, Kent ME16 8LY. Tel: 01622 687031 Fax: 01622 757646 email:
footwear@datateam.co.uk website:
www.datateam.co.uk
ISSN 1475 8601
The Publishers cannot accept responsibility for any discrepancies either in copy or between products and/or services listed. Nor can they be responsible for illustrations and/or copy for products which lead to infringement of copyright.
Footwear Friends are the chosen charity of The Footwear Industry Awards 2012
APRIL 2012 • FOOTWEAR TODAY
• 3
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44