COMPANY PROFILE West
Midland Shoe
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Tell us about the company history. The company was founded in 1973 by my brother and myself. Initially it
started as party plan and market stalls with the expectation of eventually opening 10 retail shops. We opened two shops in the local area along with a warehouse to hold stock. In order to make more use of the warehouse space we started a cash and carry operation supplying other footwear shops around the area. This took off with great success; so much so that the original plan was scrapped and new a wholesale focused plan was formed. In 2005 we had outgrown the original warehouse and moved into a new
distribution centre complete with showroom and offices. We currently offer 4 brands under the West Midland Shoe umbrella; Earth Spirit, Capollini, Adesso and Eclipse. We now service our customers throughout the UK and Europe from this Uttoxeter based head office.
Do you have a brand philosophy? Each brand has a different focus as there is little point in all the brands
competing for the same market. However the company believes in offering quality products at good value whatever the brand. Breaking it down; Earth Spirit is our casual comfort brand. It is packed full
of comfort technologies such as ‘Gelron 2000’ insoles, in order to offer the customer high comfort while still maintain its attractive styling. Capollini has boutiques very much as its focus. It features unusual
materials and colours in order to create a collection fit for any garden party or event. Adesso is our funky, fun and colourful brand. It’s bursting with colour and
fabulous fun for everyone to enjoy be it summer or winter. Last but not least, Eclipse is the latest brand to our range. It’s
manufactured in Italy using high quality Italian leather uppers and linings and offers a stylish, slightly dressy, comfort driven collection at great prices.
What set’s your company apart from the rest? Not only do we offer a wide cross section of products we also pride
ourselves on our customer service. We are a tight knit family business and passionate about the products we sell and the relationships we create with our customers. Wherever possible we aim to assist all customers be it trade accounts or end users looking for stockists of our brands.
Where are you based and where do you manufacture? We are based in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire and we manufacture all over the world, including; Italy, Spain, Brazil and China.
24 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • AUGUST 2013
Do you have any famous customers? Not really sure...but I do play golf with Gordon Banks and Robbie Williams’ Dad! Does that count?
Do you have a high staff turnover? Thankfully we don’t have a high staff turnover. We are very lucky that our
staff stay with us for a long time. This year we celebrate our 40th year of trading. Our secretary joined us 37 years ago and is still with us today. Also our Warehouse Manager joined us for a three month trial 21 years ago and he’s still here too..... That reminds me, I must ask him if he wants the job on a permanent basis.
How do you market your products? Do you use social networking? We’ve found that word of mouth is a great way for people to hear about
our products. The best way to encourage new customers to buy your product is for them to hear that other shops are selling it well. We provide dedicated web sites for Adesso, Earth Spirit and Capollini and
recently launched an Adesso Facebook page. Like others we also use a limited number of trade magazines including Footwear Today. Perhaps the most fun has been creating our Spring/Summer Adesso
video. It’s available through the web site and on You Tube and has proven to be a fabulous talking point.
And the next step? Any plans for the future, new lines etc? Our forward order sales increased a whooping 53% for
Spring/Summer2013 and we are looking for further growth again this year. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved and are committed to delivering the best products and service to our customers. It’s a challenging economic climate but our hard work and focus on traditional business values appears to be reaping rewards.
How do we contact you? We have representatives and agents that cover the UK. Our group website
(
www.wmsc.co.uk) offers contact information together with links to web sites for our respective brands.
West Midlands Shoe Company Ltd Tel: 01889 561790 Fax: 01889 562463 Web:
www.wmsc.co.uk
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