STRAP


Cheryl Taylor, Editor, talks to footwear retailer Louise Crush of Just Shoes, Whitstable, Kent. Q&A:


Name: Louise Crush Shop: Just Shoes, Whitstable Kent.


Brands: Caprice, Tamaris, Rieker, Lunar, Pikolinos, Yokono, Hush Puppy, Laura Vita, Ugg.


How did you get into footwear? Tell us about your background and your current business? My career started at 17, working in high street fashion. I moved on to footwear, where I was a regional manager for Schuh. The knowledge I gained from my many years in high street retail was invaluable and it gave me the confidence, experience and passion I needed to begin my own business. Just Shoes had already been trading for 25 years as a successful business in Whitstable when I purchased it eight years ago, and since then I feel the business is moving forward and evolving with each new season. However, our aims and values will always remain the same – to provide good quality, varied products with our warm, knowledgeable team who always strive to go the extra mile and deliver the personal service that bring our customers back to us year after year. It’s this personal touch that will hopefully continue to mark us out from the high street, as well as the ever increasing challenge of online retail.


30 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • AUGUST 2018


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, the local area, your customers and their requirements? We are located in the pretty and bustling Whitstable on the north Kent coast, currently we have a three person team. Two of whom are of long standing and share the management role in store, with a lovely new member joining us this summer. The photo is of one of our store managers, Denise Biggs, all ready for another busy day! We have a very loyal customer base, some of whom have been coming to the shop for as long as they can remember. As well as this we benefit from seasonal visitors…Whitstable can be pretty lively in the summer! Our customers value good service, so we take the time to look after them and understand their needs. We will often repair and hand deliver items to local customers, as well as let them know of future stock arrivals and believe this all helps us build a strong relationship with our clientele.


Do you have an online shop/website and do you use social networking for business? We do not currently have our own website, at the moment we work off the back of our sister shop’s website. However, we are looking at developing our own very soon. We do use social media on a regular basis to market the business. We have a presence on both Facebook and Instagram and find these useful to get messages out quickly.


How are you finding the footwear market currently? Like many we had a slow start to the season, a cold Easter and the Beast from the East did not help early sales of sandals! However we have bought strongly and the settled weather since then has meant the season has picked up nicely. If things continue as they are, we should be looking at a positive summer for us. I think the main challenge is to commit to the business and not hold back believing in what you do.


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