Q&A
central to the success of Klodhoppers. It’s what sets the independents apart from the supermarkets and chain stores that sell children’s shoes. Customers come to us because they trust us to measure and fit their children’s feet properly, and they choose to listen to our advice regarding foot health and how to care for their children’s feet by supplying them with what works for their specific needs, for example. orthotic inserts to be fitted in styles that allow for this. At Klodhoppers Kim and Lizzy (our full time employee) are fully paid up members of S.S.F.
Does your shop sell other items besides footwear, bags, gloves, tights, socks, below the ankle products?
We sell a few other related items such as school socks, insoles, shoe polish, shoe labels, rain suits, wellie socks and back packs. We have tended to stick with what we know and have resisted diversifying too much. (We appreciate that this depends on your location and whether you have other shops competing for the business if you are selling non-shoe products such as children’s clothing.)
Do you use an EPOS (retail technology) system in your shop? No, we currently do not have an EPOS system in our shop. We process all our online shop listings and deductions etc manually. We looked at an EPOS system a few years ago but the set-up costs were quite high at the time. We are sure that this is something that we will do in the future as the costs for these systems are becoming more and more affordable.
What is your favourite men’s footwear brand/manufacturer – ditto ladies/children’s brand – and why?
Mark’s current favourite men’s brands are Legero and Ecco. He likes the quality and reliability of their products, especially their waterproof winter boots. Although he has got lots of pairs of Crocs flip flops, Birkenstocks and a very stylish new pair of Hummel trainers. Kim’s favourite brand is Irregular Choice for unusual designs and unique styling. Also she says it’s hard to beat Birkenstock, Legero and Fit Flop slippers for comfort.
How do you select your products – which criteria do you use/what are your customers looking for?
We feel that we know our local market quite well and the brands and styles preferred. We have been trading for 16 years and we listen to our customers and try to tailor our buying to their requests. You have to take a note of the trends that come and go and know when it’s time to stop selling a brand or start selling a new one. Children’s fashions in footwear don’t change as frequently as the adult market so if you don’t get complete sell-through at the end of one season, you can carry a few pairs forward to the next season.
We tend to set a budget per brand at the start of each season as a guideline, but depending on sales, then we may need to top up from B2B websites to fill size gaps.
Which footwear/fashion shows do you attend, how do you rate them? Are you planning to attend a Show next year, if so, which one? Covid-19 aside, we try to attend MODA once a year, which is always a good exercise for checking out new/different brands. We always attend the Gatwick stock room in February and September, as it is local to us and we can see several of our suppliers in one session. It’s always good to see everyone face to face in order to catch up and do ‘shoe chat’, especially after lots of Zoom/Teams meetings during the past year and a half.
Do you have a favourite footwear agent? Do we have a favourite footwear agent?? Now that would be telling…………….! Needless to say our favourite footwear agents are the ones who respond promptly when we need them, back us up when we need their help if there’s a problem and generally remember that we are the customer.
What is your favourite men’s footwear brand/manufacturer – ditto ladies/children’s brand – and why?
20 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021
We both have a passion for footwear. Mark’s favourite shoes are his cycling shoes as he loves to get out on his bike. It’s his preferred method of relaxation as he can ‘switch off’ from work mode. Kim has ‘umpteen’ pairs of shoes, (let’s leave it at that!).
Any famous customers?
Yes, we have had our fair share of famous customers over the years including paparazzi camped outside the shop window waiting to snap away once the celebrity walked out the door with her children and Klodhoppers bags in tow.
How do you think the Government could best help footwear retailers at this difficult time, i.e. lower business rates, rents, VAT etc? The Government has helped small businesses throughout the pandemic by providing grants to help cash flow when the doors were forced shut (in spite of lockdown, we still had suppliers to pay, energy bills, rent etc), plus we had furlough payments for our staff, and Bounce Back loans which were cheaper than overdrafts. Although we have left the EU we think that maintaining zero VAT on children’s shoes is the best thing that the Government can do to support footwear retailers. Clearly keeping business rates and rents low for small businesses is vital if they and the high street are going to have a chance of bouncing back after the last year and a half of uncertainty.
Do you have any plans for the future? Buy an R.V. and go travelling before we are too old and decrepit. Contact
Klodhoppers Address: 17 Sussex Rd, Haywards Heath RH16 4DZ Phone: 01444 452824
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