STRAP
Cheryl TaylorTalks to Justin Mansfieldof Wards Shoes, Derbyshire
Tell us about your shops and their locations? We are based in Derbyshire and have five shops in Bakewell, Belper,
Matlock, Allestree & Worksop. This year we are celebrating 60 years in business! The company was set up in 1954 by Eric Ward in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. It was then run by Steven & Jane Ward for many years until Alison & I became involved in 2006. It is still a family business. Our business is 57% Women's, 25% Children's & 15% Men's.
Which are the main brands that you stock? Being located in small market towns means our product mix is fairly
casual, currently our best performing adults brands are Rieker, Gabor & Earth Spirit although we do well with Clarks, Hotter & Ecco too.
What made you decide to buy Earth Spirit footwear? We had worked with the West Midland Shoe Company previously and have
a great relationship with Derek. He recommended Earth Spirit to us and we agreed it was a good brand for our shops. The product is great as so many of our suppliers have moved away from this sort of classic casual product & we felt there was a clear gap in our range. Most importantly we thought the prices were spot on!
Which features of the brand do you like best and why? We were really impressed with the quality of Earth Spirit. It is very
consistent, what you see at the show room is what you get. We've had the brand for quite a few years now and lots of our customers now come in and ask to see what is new from Earth Spirit.
How does Earth Spirit compare with other comfort/casual brands you stock/have stocked? Currently Earth Spirit is performing very well compared to our other
brands, with big increases on last year. It gives us a great entry price point with retail tickets around £39.99 in summer and £49.99 upwards in winter. This fits great with our other brands as it means we are not duplicating any business. We get some good volume sales on the styles at these prices and the best part is a consistently good achieved margin! One of the best from all of our suppliers.
Which Earth Spirit styles have worked best for you? All the styles sell well but our best performing lines are Whicita in Summer & Denton in winter, every season!
Is Earth Spirit one of your best-sellers? Would you recommend the brand to other retailers? Earth Spirit has been in our top 5 brands for the last three months.
I'd definitely recommend Earth Spirit to other footwear retailers. If you're looking for a brand which offers good value casual product that sells then this is it!
And, the service you receive from West Midlands Shoes? We like dealing with WMSC, they're always really helpful and quick to
respond to any questions. It’s great to see them do so well with Earth Spirit – they found a good brand!
For further information on the West Midland Shoe Company and Earth Spirit visit:
www.wmsc.co.uk Tel: 01889 561790 16 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • MAY 2014
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