MISFIT


Mary, Mary, quite contrary


I


was watching “Queen of the High Street” recently and it got me thinking about how Mary Portas would deal with the shoe trade.


Although, I have a huge amount of respect for Mary - and


very often I completely agree with her ideas -there is a part of me that is completely the opposite. If I go away from my business for few days, I return to the shop and think that looks terrible or I need to update this and that, etc. It is very easy to be in the same shop day in, day out and you actually become oblivious to so many things.


When was the last time you really stood back and


looked at the state of your shop. The paint on the walls or how the flooring looks, are the shoes I’m offering the type of shoes being worn by the people walking down my street? What is the other shoe shop offering? Is he busier than me? If so, why? This is exactly what Mary does when she visits a shop


and it looks so obvious to her but it’s the first time she has been in that shop. Also she has the eyes of a complete production team with no preconceived ideas.


When it comes to your own business you have to be


very careful that your shop is right for its location. By this I mean, if you are in a small market town you should have a relaxed and comfortable interior, whereas if you are in a shopping centre it needs to be much sleeker and minimalistic. Going back to Mary, very often she thinks she is still in Oxford Street with thousands of customers walking past every hour, so she only need to appeal to 1 in a 1,000 people. Whereas, in the small market town you may only have 500 people per day, so you need to have a much greater offering to survive.


I was amazed to find a shop on the Internet that was offering


150 different brands. That sounds like a logistical nightmare. The thought of seeing 150 different agents would send me crazy. I have often had the debate, is it better to buy five styles from 100 different brands or are you better concentrating on half a dozen brands and giving a full collection from each brand? I personally feel the latter is a better way to trade. This way you become a major account with the supplier which


18 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • JUNE/JULY 2013


I would really like to see Mary not only try and help a struggling shoe retailer, but also come out onto the High Street and see some of the fantastic independent shoe retailers that are working hard to survive in these extremely difficult times.


This is where Mary comes into her own. She will get shops


to offer new and varied product based on what she feels is right for that business not product that has always been sold in that town. Maybe she doesn’t always get it right- but she does make the retailer think more closely at what they are doing.


I would really like to see her not only try and help a


struggling shoe retailer but also come out onto the High St and see some of the fantastic independent shoe retailers that are working hard to survive in these extremely difficult times.


Please email and give me your thoughts or subjects you


would like me to natter on about in future editions to Misfitfootwear@hotmail.com.


should open doors for better terms etc. The only down side is that you have a lot of eggs in one basket and what happens if one of your brands has a bad season?


I find it very interesting talking to other retailers around the


country and hearing how certain product works or don’t work in different areas. Yes certain types of product sell better in the South compared to the North, but I firmly believe the reason is more about the retailer and how he promotes the product, than the fact that this town doesn’t sell wedges or patent shoes, etc.


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