Fashion Independent Retailer of the Year was won by Jake Shoes, a northern retailer with stores in Manchester and Stockport. The highly commended was received by new entrant Tower London, a trailblazer in London’s independent footwear retailer scene.
Outdoor Independent Footwear Retailer of the Year was won by specialist outdoor retailer Whalley Warm and Dry, which is situated in the picturesque village of Whalley in the Ribble Valley, near both the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District. Highly commended went to Surrey-based Robert Carder Shoes.
New Independent Footwear Retailer of the Year went to Belfast children’s footwear retailer Inn Shoes, run by husband and wife team Noelle and Johnny Strain. Highly commended was won by Northamptonshire’s Zap & Toes. Independent Family Footwear Retailer of the Year was picked up by independent family run business WJ French & Sons, which has been trading in Southampton since 1803 and is now in the hands of the eighth generation of the French family. The highly commended went to Johnsons Shoes/Bowleys Fine Shoes.
Multiple Footwear Retailer of the Year was awarded to Charles Clinkard, a family-run independent shoe store chain that has grown from one store in 1924 to 33 stores across the UK today. Robin Elt Shoes received up their third award of the night with the highly commended in this category.
The Student Shoe Fitter of the Year, awarded by the Society of Shoe Fitters, went to Ryan Clements of North Shoes. “We were delighted with our choice of Student of the Year 2016 said
Laura West, SSF, this is a prestigious award given to the student who has shown tremendous commitment, attended workshops and put huge effort into their coursework. Ryan richly deserves this recognition as he loves fitting shoes professionally and giving great advice to his customers. Thank you to North Shoes for their loyalty, continuing to provide their staff with our Footwear & Fitting Course. This is a professional business through and through. We must also thank Dasco Dunkelman for providing our winner with a beautifully engraved valet box.” The Platinum Shoe Award, which recognises outstanding performance by a Footwear Repre- sentative was won by Kevin Sumner of Rieker.
Karen Carton of Bobux deservedly won the ‘Leader in Customer Service’ award. Children’s footwear brand pediped picked up two awards, for Best Use of Technology and Footwear Designer of the Year, which was won by designer Jenevieve Froncek.
Shop Front of the Year, which rewards an independent retailer that has consistently demonstrated innovation, creativity and business acumen in their shop front displays over the past 12 months, was won by Stomp Footwear in Narborough, with the highly commended going to Walters Shoes. Personality of the Year, meanwhile, was awarded to Glenn Coleman of Start-rite, who will be invited to choose the charity that will benefit alongside Footwear Friends at the 2018 awards.
Finally, Datateam Business Media is delighted to announce that the Footwear Brand of the Year for 2017 has been awarded to Skechers, who received the most votes in the competition overall.
Cheryl Taylor, editor of Footwear Today magazine, said: "I was delighted to see the numbers of retailers who attended the awards, both established businesses and start ups. A key function of the Footwear Industry Awards is to recognise independent footwear retailers and the fantastic job they do, and the mix of attendees showed that the industry understands the importance of this.”
Carl Hearnden: "A highly coveted Footwear Industry Award is a real quality mark for retailers and brands alike, telling customers that they offer unrivalled products and service. Congratulations to all the highly commended and winners for 2017!"
Sue Wiseman: "We would like to thank all our sponsors, without whom we would not be able to run this awards programme which rewards the hard work and innovation of the trade. I would like to personally thank everyone who came along, we appreciate the support of everyone in the industry.”
Datateam Business Media, organiser of the Footwear Industry Awards and publisher of Footwear Today, is delighted to announce that the 2018 Footwear Industry Awards, will return to the National Conference Centre on February 18th, 2018 – see you there!
www.footwearindustryawards.com
2017 • FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY AWARDS • 5
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