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We have 1 Full Time Shoe Fitter and 1 Saturday Assistant. Both have been


crucial to the launch success of Shoedini. Our team are a tight little family, we understand how to support one another and make for a memorable experience at Shoedini. The education on footwear fittings to our community is one of the


key items for us to address going forward. It’s crucial to equip parents early in the mission to keeping feet fit for life. We still have some schools dictating plimsols for PE footwear, kids wearing ill-fitting footwear and the challenge of cheap / poorly constructed shoes at throwaway prices to educate parents on.


Do you have an online shop/website and do you use social networking for business? We do have a website www.shoedini.co.uk however, encourage customers to obtain proper fittings in person for children. I mainly use Instagram and Facebook for engagement with our community and am steadily building some excellent interaction.


How are you finding the footwear market currently? The footwear industry has really taken us in, and it’s been fantastic meeting and learning from such experienced individuals who work within. Sadly, our industry is certainly reducing in size due to various unfortunate reasons. We need more brands to listen to the Retailers (big and small) to ensure together we all last the duration of the retail crisis. Retailers need more support on educating parents on keeping feet healthy, and we need parents to understand the damage they do by self-fitting and buying cheap.


What brands are selling well? Any particular trends? As a business of just 6 months of age, this to be determined; so far we’ve had a real mix of tiny feet visiting, so have been selling across all our brands and styles. For future, we’ve got all our analytics ready to begin understanding the trends and what the people of MK want and 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 our core. I am a member of the Society of Shoe Fitters, my team are trained in fittings to ensure we look after the vulnerable little feet walking in to our shop and that shoe offers closest to perfect fit. I am Qualified and Stacy is working toward her qualification. The biggest challenge we foresee is educating parents on the importance of a correctly fitting shoe, and the future potential health issues this will avoid as the children grow. This is why we will only offer premium brands who will ensure healthy feet for the future.


Does your shop sell other items besides footwear? We stock Frugi and Slipfree. At launch we had swimwear, sun hats, and towels along with jumpers, tights and snuggly clothing for Winter. Our aim is to be the boutique fittings destination for Milton Keynes families.


Do you use an EPOS (retail technology) system in your shop? We use Shopify, which integrates very well with both our online portal and our in-store POS hardware. We feel having an agile setup using cutting edge technology, with all of our data existing in the Cloud will allow us an advantage in a difficult time for Retail.


Any tips on stock offers, novel ideas for clearing lines or advice for independent shoe retailers who might be feeling the pinch? We will hold end of season sales but also will focus on 1 main sale per year planned to clear aged stock. Incentives are based on regular fittings to obtain in-shop loyalty perks. We also have some (hopefully) industry transforming initiatives that we will reveal as we continue trading further, and look forward to sharing more details on.


How do you select your products – which criteria do you use / what are your customers looking for? The main focus is fittings. Second to this is style and whether the brand is a fit for the community. I want to offer funky shoes that have not been


previously available in the Milton Keynes area. Finally, the purpose of the shoe – we want to ensure the types of shoe are the work well for this area; whether that’s functional or occasion.


Do you have a favourite footwear agent you can tell us about? As I’m a fresh name to the industry I have felt the love from all of the agents. All of them have been so passionate and offered me so much guidance that I look forward to building the relationships further with each agent and the brands they represent.


Have you always had a passion for footwear? How many pairs of shoes do you own? Do you have a favourite pair? In my mid 20’s I became hooked on vintage shoes, collecting anything of interest from old Georgian pill boxes to Victorian booties to a 1927 publication of Houdini’s Party Magic. In fact, before my father passed, he called me the ‘Houdini of Shoes’ – he was suffering diabetes, an amputee and I used to pack out his shoes so no one would notice this toe-less figure of a man. I was his Shoedini! I have approximately 80 pairs of my own shoes across various premium /


luxury brands. From feminine flats, brogues to beautiful wedges and sexy dagger heels. I like variety and rotate my footwear regularly based on practicality, style and occasion. My favourite pair of shoes are from my Vintage Children’s Collection. I own a beautiful pair of vintage children’s wood and leather sabots/clogs produced late 19th Century, c1870-1880. They are intricate in design and ooze character, and are lovingly displayed in our shop.


Any famous customers? Yes – but we are sworn to secrecy. However we can say she is a household name and delighted she found us through our social marketing efforts.


And, the next step? Any plans for the future, new lines, retail systems/new technology, etc.? We will be looking to add some further brands as we grow but will determine this once we have a few seasons under our belt to ensure they work for our community. Having an agile POS and online system using cutting edge technology, allows us an advantage in a challenging time for High Street Retail, so will be expanding this further as needed.


Shoedini 13A Bodmin Place, Broughton Gate, Milton Keynes, MK10 7DP T: 01908 395049 E: hello@shoedini.co.uk W: https://www.shoedini.co.uk


JANUARY 2020 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • 39


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