As stated in previous posts, I went to work with my local cobbler to learn more about the manufacturing of shoes. Following on from this, he gave me a collection of shoe components he uses to repair shoes, labelled up so I could include them in my buyers pack.
He also gave me a selection of industry magazines all about footwear, to help with my leather care advice and PESTEL.
First of all, the average woman owns 17 pairs of shoes (BBC article) so generally there is a big market for footwear retailers to tap into this need for footwear amongst women.
I have looked at a lot of data for the market share for plus size footwear, however there has is currently no data available for long sizing shoes, but there is a lot of data available on wide fit footwear. I have selected key statistics from various Verdict reports on wide fit footwear that are more general and can be applied to long fitting shoes and the need for high quality, comfortable footwear.
“10,000 British consumers found that 60.5% of wide fit footwear shoppers said they find it difficult to find wide fit footwear, 74.4% want more choice.” (Verdict, Wide Fit Footwear, Sector Trends Report)
“British feet are continuing to get bigger and wider, up two shoe sizes since 1970, due to increasing weight and height” (College of Podiatry)
“Between 75-80% of UK adults have a foot problem” (College of Podiatry)
“21.5% of wide fit footwear shoppers are 16-34, younger consumers are becoming more aware of foot problems associated with wearing uncomfortable shoes or underlying medical conditions such as back or knee problems, so they are actively seeking more comfortable, well-fitting footwear” (Verdict, Wide Fit Footwear, Sector Trends Report)
“51.4% of wide fit footwear shoppers are prepared to spend more on wide fit shoes than regular shoes” (Verdict, Wide Fit Footwear, Sector Trends Report)
“67.5% of wide fit footwear shoppers would like more fashion in wide fit ranges” (Verdict, Wide Fit Footwear, Sector Trends Report)
“Retailers should take advantage of consumer willingness to spend more on comfort footwear than regular footwear, and extend price architecture for specific comfort collections.” (Verdict, Retailer strategies footwear report)
On Wednesday the 20th of April, I visited Chiltern street in Marlybone to do some competitor shopping. I went to the street to look at Long Tall Sally’s footwear offering, but I also ended up stumbling across an independent footwear boutique for sizes UK 7.5 – 12.
Long Tall Sally
The store had quite a few customers in it to say its location is far from the popular London shopping locations and it was 11pm on a Wednesday morning. Naturally, all the women in there were incredibly tall, reaffirming my belief that women are actively seeking out clothing and footwear to fit their tall frames, that they can’t get from normal hughstreet stores.
I spent time in the footwear lounge pretending to browse, listening in on the conversations between the customers and the staff, to see what they were asking for in terms of size, fit and styles.
Long Tall Sally had their own brand footwear offering, but they also stocked a lot of external brands.
They had an overall size range from UK 7-13. Most of the Long Tall Sally own brand shoes were manufactured in China, but there were some made in India & Spain from the external brands. But generally quite cheap sourcing locations, with a £15 entry price and a £110 exit price – cheap/affordable shoe offering.
Crispins Shoes
After my visit to Long Tall Sally, I spotted an independent shoe store specifically for large size footwear (UK 7.5-12). I had a look inside and they had a wide range of shoes and stocked a lot of brands as well as their own brand range. Similarly to Long Tall Sally, there were lots of women in there trying on shoes, desperately trying to find shoes and getting fed up when they couldn’t find the perfect pair – again reaffirming that footwear shopping for long sizes is a task for a lot of women and there is a market for it.
Apart from Crispins shoes own label there was a lot of external brands filling out the 2 room store.
Entry price £64.95 for a pair of Toni Pons espadrilles, exit price £495 for a pair of Stuart Weizmann heels. They had a commercial collection of shoes, wearable for all ages and personal styles. The store was poorly merchandised, but the staff were very friendly and wanting to help without being pushy sellers. One of the companies USP’s is that the store staff know everything about the shoe range and try to be as helpful as possible in finding you a well fitting pair of shoes.
Their most popular size in that store was UK size 9, so all the display shoes were size 9’s.
Sourcing locations were better than Long Tall Sally, the majority of the product was made in Italy & Spain.
In preparation for my INP, and future career aspirations I have been trying to acquire as much knowledge as possible on footwear and how it is manufactured.
During my Easter break, I thought it would be beneficial to spend some time with the cobbler in my home town, as a way to get closer to the manufacturing process of shoes, and see if there was any general knowledge he was willing to share with me on the topic of shoes.
He had a high level of experience working with shoes, being a cobbler for 36 years. We began our discussion with him suggesting some footwear factories that I can go visit in Northampton, the heart of footwear manufacturing in the UK. As I explained I was interested in high quality footwear, he suggested the following UK based factories: Trickers, Loake, Cheaney & Churchs would be good to see how high quality hand finishing on footwear is done- this is something I am now currently looking into.
The reheeling & resoling process
Top pieces = The new heel or sole to be put on the shoe to replace the damaged parts.
Video link to view the finishing process
Heel & Sole types for high quality shoes
Additional information
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