STRAP


Cheryl Taylor, Editor, talks to Gemma Slaymaker of GEMMA Ladies Shoe Boutique, Bournemouth, Dorset. Q&A:


Name: Gemma Slaymaker Shop: GEMMA Ladies Shoe Boutique


Brands: 24 Hrs, Alpe, Capollini, Caprice, Cara London, Franco Russo, Geox, Irregular Choice, Jana, La Ross, Laura Vita, Lunar, Paula Urban, Rapisardi, Zaccho, Yull


Home town: Bournemouth, Dorset


How did you get into footwear? Tell us about your background and your current business? Where and when you started, etc. I have always loved shoes, even as a little girl one of my earliest memories was clomping around my Mum’s dressing room in her high heels!


I opened


GEMMA Ladies Shoe Boutique in October 2014 following a complete career change (by profession I am an interpreter translating from French, German and Spanish). Before returning to the UK from Brussels, having lived abroad since graduating from University, I was working as a TV presenter and journalist interviewing Heads of State and Government for the European Parliament.


I wanted a new challenge, a business I could build for my future.


Due to the economic climate there were not many individual footwear boutiques so I felt I could offer something a bit different. The languages still come in handy when sourcing shoes from the continent though, as do the politics!


36 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • JUNE/JULY 2016


Where are your premises located? Tell us about your shop, the local area, your customers and their requirements? GEMMA Ladies Shoe Boutique is in Westbourne, which neighbours the coastal town of Bournemouth, Dorset.


It has that wonderful sense of


community with unique shops and eateries, a really lovely place to wander round. We have a wide customer base but at the end of the day they are all ladies who like to be fashionably comfortable.


I love it on a Saturday when


the daughter, Mum and Nan come in together - it is very satisfying when you are able to find something for every one.


I always aim to go that extra mile;


it is not unusual for me to take a customer’s contact details and ring her even months later when that particular shoe comes in.


I genuinely enjoy


meeting new people and place particular emphasis on providing a fun and friendly environment in which to shop; it often becomes a social gathering!


How many people do you employ? Do you have a high turnover of staff? I am in the shop the majority of the time.


I like to be hands-on as I feel it’s


important to get to know my customers and what they are looking for but I have a fantastic team with one main member of staff, Val, and my Mum who pops in on a Saturday. We change the window together every week and always have a giggle with the customers. So the line of communication is very short…I know immediately if we have a winning item.


Do you have an online shop/website and do you use social networking for business? I have an online presence for information purposes and to give a flavour of the shop but I like to keep that personal service which you cannot achieve selling online.


products with a highly personal service.


It is almost apposite to my philosophy of providing exclusive I now know many of my customers


by name and could probably even tell you which shoe she has bought and what size she is. We like to offer variety rather than quantity and therefore only stock one or two sizes in the same style so once it’s gone it’s gone, which would prove difficult with an online shop. Currently my window is my social media. We always try to make it attractive with regular themes so it is


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