Where are your premises located and how many people do you employ? Tell us about your shop(s), the local area, your customers and their requirements? We’re located in Roxy Square, an old shopping mall in Katong - one of Singapore’s oldest heritage districts. It’s a small shop - about 200 square feet. Unlike most malls in Singapore, Roxy Square is full of family-run shops, so it feels very homely. My children grew up in the old mission schools and church around Katong, so it’s also a very familiar and cosy community to us.
How many people do you employ? Do you have a high turnover of staff? Staff wise - we started with just me and my son. An old colleague of mine just joined us part time. She’s a qualified member of the S.S.F too and has been a huge help as it’s hard to find qualified and passionate shoe fitters in Singapore. Over here, we get customers travelling in from all corners of Singapore, although Katong is located right along the East Coast. Many are referred by Podiatrists who trust us to help their patients. We have customers who enjoy many good shoes, but also many who don’t have deep pockets. I like it that way, because it means that we are providing options for
people who otherwise cannot afford orthopedic shoes. We give everyone the same dedication and high level of service, whether you’re a highly paid banker or a cleaning lady.
Do you have an online shop/website and do you use social networking for business? Our shop has a website at
www.footkaki.com. We can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and our Google Maps listing. We also have a WhatsApp Business account, which allows customers to get in touch with us easily.
How are you finding the footwear market currently? It’s challenging as a small business. Singapore retail is dominated by global brands, their chain stores, and e-commerce. Online shopping is very popular here. It’s a crazy price war and very hard for a small independent shop like Footkaki to compete on their terms. We just don’t have the margins and advertising budgets which bigger brands enjoy. Being in Asia, you also have the problem of imitations and low-quality
footwear. The footwear market here isn’t regulated by anybody, so there are growing numbers of orthopedic shoe shops whose staff are not trained in shoe fitting or orthotics. Just hard sales. I’ve seen many cases of badly- fitted orthopedic shoes. It does not help the reputation of our industry segment, or comfort shoes in general. We just keep our heads down and set ourselves apart by focusing on
good shoe fitting. We sincerely do our best to help people with foot pain, and I’m very happy that many customers appreciate that too.
What’s selling well? Any particular trends? Which are your best selling footwear brands – and why? Our shop doesn’t sell to trends. We just focus on moving good shoes because comfort lasts longer than looks. However, Vionic has recently become more aggressive and prominent in the local market. We’ve definitely benefited from carrying their footwear. Ziera too. These two brands are often in tune with the latest fashion trends, while offering the healthy support features which we need.
How important is shoe fitting to your business? Are you or any of your staff members of the Society Of Shoe Fitters? Shoe fitting is very important to us! My ex colleague and I are qualified members of the S.S.F, while my son, Clarence, is studying hard to qualify as one. I know he’s nervous about catching up, because there’s always so much other work to do. Customers do get drawn in by the S.S.F sticker in our window and are often impressed by our knowledge and expertise. Some even call us for fitting advice when trying on shoes at other shops. We must thank the S.S.F for their support. Especially Laura West for all her encouragement.
Does your shop sell other items besides footwear, bags, gloves, tights, socks, below the ankle products? Our other speciality is orthotic insoles and feet care accessories. We also carry some socks and shoe care products. In addition, we provide some unique in-store services like antibacterial treatments and certain kinds of shoe and orthotic modifications.
Do you use an EPOS (retail technology) system in your shop(s)? Our EPOS system is free to use on an iPad, and we pay about US$250 a year to add on a very comprehensive inventory management system. It’s a very good deal for small businesses, I feel. My son always insists that being small doesn’t mean that we can’t have some of the ‘superpowers’ that bigger retailers enjoy. So he’s set up a DIY customer relationship management (CRM) system. It helps us serve customers better and allows us to make wiser purchasing decisions based on their profiles.
FEBRUARY 2020 • FOOTWEAR TODAY
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