Footwear Retailer of the month
Cheryl T aylor talks to Nichola Sargeantof One Small Step
1. How did you get into footwear? Tell us about your background and your current business? I have always had a real passion for footwear including ladies and
children’s. It’s always been something of a dream of mine to have my own shoe shop. I did spot another location for my shop in a nearby town some years ago, it was an old leather shop a family run business and due to retirement they closed. I thought it would have been a perfect location for a children’s shoe shop someone else obviously had the same idea because that’s what it is now! My background has always been in customer service and sales/operations roles with the experience that I have I knew it would be perfect for my own business and thought why not put my skills to use for myself.
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? My premises are located in the beautiful spa town of Buxton in the heart
of the Peak District. We are close to the market place and the higher end of Buxton, there are lots of other independent retailers close by and plenty of car parking. The building is an old three storey Victorian terraced and even has a fire place in the shop and traditional cast range cooker in the storage area in the back of the shop! It’s simply beautiful and I love it and so do our customers. I don’t employ any staff at the moment – it’s just me!
Our customers mainly come to us because they want more variety and
choice and also they get the personal service. Buxton people really do like to support local businesses, which is fantastic.
3. Do you have an online shop/website and do you use social networking for business? Yes, I have an online shop/ website and I use facebook, Twitter and have
also just started blogging! I think you do need an on line presence otherwise I feel we will get left behind. Although we do recommend customers to come to the shop to have their shoes professionally fitted.
4. How are you finding the footwear market currently? As this is only my 2nd year I don’t really have much to compare the
footwear market with, but I am very conscious of regularly doing price comparisons to ensure that my customers pay the same price as they would online. I think all retailers are finding it hard at the moment and have to offer something a bit special and offer exceptional service to win customers and keep them coming back, this is something I always try hard to do.
5. What’s selling well? Any particular trends? Which are your best selling footwear brands – and why? Being in the Peak District we quite often get rain, so wellies are always a good seller for us. We stock the Hatley range with the matching raincoats
18 • FOOTWEAR TODAY
• MAY 2013
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