Q: Do you have an online shop or website, and do you use social networking for business? Sarah: We certainly do! Our website was my “lockdown project” and although it’s currently very small and condensed, we do sell through it, and not just locally either – in the past we have sent some items to the Netherlands, Belgium, America and even Australia! We have a decent following on social media
too and we make many sales through our pages. I enjoy creating and sharing content as we are a very unique business and I love sharing it with the world! We most recently had China’s most read magazine ‘Xinhua’ come and visit us for an interview… Who knew people in China were looking at our socials!
Q: What’s selling well right now? What are your best-selling footwear brands and why? Sarah: Josef Seibel is extremely popular, and for good reason – they are fantastic quality and super comfortable shoes. We also do well with Maria Lya and Start-Rite, and Skechers are also becoming more popular with their slip-in shoes, plus Aigle wellingtons are a must around here in the countryside and we are always re-stocking them! On our clothing side, Gurteen remains our best-
selling brand and we have worked with them for over 85 years. Their clothing is of great quality, at sensible prices, and fits very well. Alan Paine is also very popular with their country clothing; their gilets are probably one of our top selling items.
Q: How important is shoe fitting to your business? Sarah: It is extremely important. Our children’s department has a fantastic reputation for proper shoe fittings – no electronic gauges or guessing, just the same traditional measuring gauge, a wealth of experience and a trusting relationship between our staff and customers.
“Our children’s department has a fantastic reputation for proper shoe fittings – no electronic gauges or guessing, just the same traditional measuring gauge.”
As a mum myself now, having that trust is
extremely important; you only want what’s best for your child, including the health of their feet. You not only need shoes that fit, but can last the non-stop adventures and punishments kids put them through! My daughter, Penny, quite often features on our social media as our little model, and naturally, like her mum, she loves shoes too! We introduced our first appointment system
for shoe fittings for the first back-to-school season after Covid and it worked really well; we saw nearly 600 children in total, which isn’t bad for a little shop like ours!
Q: What are your views on the independent footwear and fashion sector at the moment? Sarah: Retail is hard. People are feeling the pinch with the increasing cost of living, so the convenience and competitive value of shopping online is only growing. You’d be surprised how many people come into the shop for the first time because they saw something on Facebook. Our online sales are very small, but we would not be able to survive on online sales alone. Business rates and rent is what cripples many small businesses; we are lucky that we own the freehold of our property so we don’t have to worry about rent, but even the increasing cost of wages, utilities and maintenance is eye watering. We have seen many businesses come and go in our town, even other local high streets like Stratford-upon-Avon are filled with empty shop units. It’s so sad to see. And I feel that retail parks don’t help at all as they encourage people to shop away from small towns like ours.
DOWNLOAD THE FOOTWEAR & FASHION TODAY APP NOW SPONSORED BY
Q: Do you have any plans for the future? Sarah: To be honest, we are feeling the pressure these days; retail is only getting harder and reaching new customers is only getting more challenging, so we need to keep up with our competitors in order to remain relevant. We will keep doing what we’re doing. I am hoping to continue our online presence
and eventually expand our website. Thankfully my Dad won’t be going anywhere yet so he’ll still be around for years to come, even if he can’t climb a ladder anymore!
Contact
E.H.Spencer 9-11 Market Place, Shipston-on-Stour, CV36 4AG
www.ehspencershipston.co.uk Facebook: E.H.Spencer Instagram: @eh.spencer
JUNE 2026 • FOOTWEAR & FASHION TODAY • 45
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
