Cheryl Taylor, Editor, Talks to Andrew McConnell of McConnell Shoes, Cookstown, Dunganon and Magherafelt, Northern Ireland.
Q&A: Name: Andrew McConnell
Shop: McConnell Shoes: Cookstown, Dunganon, Magherafelt
Brands: Agatha, Anatomic Gel, Base, Bogs, Bugatti, Caprice, CAT, Clarks, Converse, Crocs, Dr. Martens, Dubarry , Earth Spirit, EMU, Escape, Garvalin, Geox, Grendha, Gri Sport, Heavenly Feet, Ipanema, Jack Jones, Joules, Justin Reece, Kate Appleby, Laura Vita, Lea Lelo, Lelli Kelly, Lloyd and Pryce, Loake, Lotus, Marco Tozzi, Marila , Merrell, Moshulu, Mustang, Nordika, Pablosky, Padders, Paolo Vandini, Remonte, Ricosta, Rider, Rieker, S.Oliver, Skechers, Softline, Sprox, Start-rite, Tamaris, Timberland, Wrangler, XTI, Zanni.
Home town: Cookstown 42 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • JANUARY 2018
How did you get into footwear? Tell us about your background and your current business? McConnell Shoes is a family business, which was founded in 1884 by my great grandfather Stewart McConnell. In those days, he handmade all of the shoes on the premises for his customers. The business was handed down to my grandfather Alec, and then on to my father Alastair, who took over in 1973. The business grew over the years, moving from handmade shoes to pure
retailing. Alastair extended the shop in Cookstown and also added a store in Dungannon when he bought Cummings shoes in 1980 and a store in Magherafelt when he bought Victor Brown Shoes in 1988. I got my first taste of retailing when I worked on the shop floor on
Saturdays and summers from the age of 15. It didn't pay very well, but it was great fun and I loved it. At 18 I moved to England where I went to Aston in Birmingham to study Business. My placement year was also in the shoe industry with Clarks, as a management trainee. At Aston I met my wonderful wife Jo, who is now a director in the company and also part of the buying team. After Uni we meandered round the world for a bit before returning to the UK, where I joined the Halifax as a management trainee. The Halifax was a great company to work for and I learned a lot about management and leadership. However, the constant moving jobs and branches started me thinking of other options, one of which was returning home to the family business. My mother was not best pleased when she found out I was giving up a career in banking to go into retailing! She thought I was mad and used some very colourful language to describe my decision. So, Jo and I joined the business in 2003.
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