STRAP
Footwear Retailer of the month Cheryl T
aylor talks to Nadia Arden-Scott of ShuZu Q&A:
Name: Nadia Arden-Scott Shop: ShuZu
Brands: Start-rite, Ricosta, Superfit, Hush Puppies, Timberland, Geox, Skechers, Vans, Toughees
Home town: Farnborough, Hampshire Family: Husband Chris, a son and a daughter
1. How did you get into footwear? Tell us about your background and your current business? My background is catering, but very much the customer service side.
I have always been a people person and I have always loved kids! Chris also started in catering, but as it turns out his great grandfather’s family was in shoes (Shortland Shoes – which still exists in Cobham, Surrey) and they owned several shoe shops in and around the Woking area. There was a need in our area for a good quality shoe shop offering
more choice.
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? We have two shops, Farnborough, Hampshire and Knaphill, Woking.
The shops are in secondary shopping high streets, great for the local community and not lost in big shopping centres. Both shops are nearby local schools and uniform shops; we also have free or very cheap parking, which is very important. Our customers vary from those looking for fashionable footwear to those with medical needs. We are recommended by local hospitals, podiatrists and childrens’ centres as we cater for children with orthotics, splints or other requirements. We have two full time and three part-time staff, turnover is low and it’s mainly the part-time students that we lose as they move on, but they often come back to work over the back to school period.
3. Do you employ a qualified Shoe fitter? Our full-time staff members have recently completed the Society of Shoe
Fitter’s course, which is a great investment as people are our greatest asset. The SSF qualification makes them feel empowered with knowledge and able to give the best service.
4. Do you have an online shop/website and do you use social networking for business?
No online shop at the moment, but we have just started to look into it, it’s a double edge sword as we are very committed to fitting and this cannot be done online. We have a Facebook page which is becoming more popular and this will probably lead to Twitter!
24 • FOOTWEAR TODAY
• JANUARY 2013
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