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Calling all suppliers toprofessional Shoe Fittersand Independent Retailers –

We are all aware of how theInternet and supermarketshave been allowed to rideroughshod over our highstreets and town centres.Whatever you wish to buywhether it’s a washing machineor a lawnmower it is all tootempting to use a local shopand knowledgeable shop staffas a showroom andinformation centre, withabsolutely no intention ofbuying from them because youknow you can get it cheaperonline, or from a warehousestyle operation. Guilty? Yesmost of us are and we ought to be veryashamed and rather scared! This is exactly whatis happening to independent shoe shops and itshould be a frightening prospect for EVERYfootwear manufacturer and supplier, not justthe smaller ones.

Whereas we were seeing a shoe shop closureonce every few months, now it is a weeklyoccurrence. It is all too easy for brands to shrugtheir shoulders and think ‘that’s okay we haveour own website’ or, ‘we will simply keepoffering bigger margins to the multiples’, butthere is no real profit to be made this way andyou will simply be competing with thousands ofothers. The old adage ‘when one door shutsanother door opens’ no longer applies. Villagesand towns have become carbon copies of oneanother with large multiples occupying smallshops, interspersed by coffee and charity shops

– what happened toindividuality, vive ladifférence?

So ‘why is the Society ofShoe Fitters (SSF) soconcerned’ you may bethinking, ‘why are theywriting so passionatelyabout independent shoeshops and not fitting’? Well ifwe don’t rattle some cagesnow and muster up somesupport for the independentshoe retailer, it will soon betoo late and we will all sufferfor their loss!

You have heard the Society of Shoe Fitters(SSF) speak out about the online sale ofchildren’s shoes in particular, and we make noapology for that. We are not scaremongering,we are trying to educate and inform both ourown industry and the public. There should be aGovernment Health Warning on all websitesselling children’s footwear, anyone sellingchildren’s shoes should be qualified to do so,and the sale of ‘fitting gauges’ to the publicshould be banned. There is a moral obligationbut not a legal obligation to do so. It isirresponsible to sell gauges as a gauge ismerely a starting point, they are all calibrateddifferently and they mislead people intothinking they know their own shoe size andfitting which is misinterpreted by the public.Damage done in the formative years to younggrowing feet does not just affect their feet buttheir entire physiology. The bones in the foot

THEY NEED YOUR HELP AND THEY NEED IT NOW!

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do not ossify until around the age of 18. A smallchild (or a diabetes sufferer) cannot always tell ifa shoe is too small and therefore toes can bemalformed and their gait will developunnaturally. If you walk differently tocompensate for pain or discomfort, it ‘wears’other joints and tendons, which would not beaffected in normal gait. This in turn will cause allsorts of aches and pains that may require long-term health care, or even surgery in later life.

Society members come from all avenues ofthe industry, but predominantly you will findthem in good quality Independent shoe shops.These are usually the people who make ‘fitting’their USP(unique selling point). In these shopsyou will find a variety of brands, many of whomcannot be found on the high street, as they arecreated for ‘difficult’ feet, or simply for the morediscerning and knowledgeable customer whowant to be comfortable, rather than those whoare only concerned with the price or the latestfashion. These shops invest in the education oftheir staff and their loyalty is returned, whereasthe staff employed in multiples or chain-storeswill often move on quickly, their footweareducation is limited, indeed in the majority ofshops selling shoes the staff are simply shopassistants capable of working a till and findingshoes in a stockroom – shoes may as well beBaked Beans. Because only a third of thepopulation have ‘average’ feet there is nosubstitute for a proficient shoe fitter taking alook at how you are walking and discussingyour feet and footwear whatever your age. Oneslight mention of hard skin in a certain area ofthe foot will inform a qualified shoe fitter thatthe person is putting too much weight in thatspot and may need a small orthotic to remedythe situation to make them more comfortable.Without this the public simply go on often inpain, taking up valuable GP and clinic time,taking time off work, or having costly podiatrytreatments.

If independent shops close there will befewer places for manufacturers of quality orspecialized brands to sell to, and less specialised

people to serve our families. The larger shopswon’t want brand names; they are capable ofhaving their own shoes made in bulk cheaply.However good or bad their shoes are, thisreduces choice and fit for the public, and intime prices will rise. We have seen it withenergy companies, insurance companies,telecommunications and supermarkets, theiroffers are no longer cheap deals but inflatedshort term incentives and we have no choicebut to pay because the shop on the corner hasclosed, our choice is limited. This is a ‘lose lose’situation.

We all know banks can help the most, butthere are ways you can help a little more tomake business easier and drive footfall intoyour stockiest – keep some in-stock available,offer smaller pack sizes, agree individual creditterms, incentives assisted promotions, don’tgo into ‘Sale’ too early, do not offer the sameproduct you’ve sold your retailer cheaperonline… these are just a few ways to help. Inturn independents need to communicate theirconcerns and ideas, share business plans, keeppromotions fresh etc. This is not a vastindustry despite the number of shoes sold inthe U.K. and if we don’t act now to help ourindependents it will be smaller still and farworse for everyone.

Just before Easter the Society will bepromoting a: Keep Feet ‘Fit’ – National ShoeFitting Week starting Monday March 25th2013, with posters and press releasesavailable. Independent shops and suppliersare welcome to join in and help fly the flag toremind the public you are there to serve andyour shoes are great! For more informationemail: secretary@shoefitters-uk.org or visit theSSF stand at MODA in February.

The Society of Shoe Fitters,The Anchorage, 28 Admirals Walk,

Hingham, Norfolk. NR9 4JLTel. +44 (0)1953-851171

Email: secretary@shoefitters-uk.orgWebsite: www.shoefitters-uk.org

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By Ian Tomlinson

Ecommerce is often seen as the saviour of retail,unlimited customers, huge growth potential. This isof course the case, but rather than competing withthe same footwear retailers in your town or highstreet you are now competing against footwearretailers literally all over the world.

So how do you get your ecommerce site to standout? Well, of course you can ‘optimise’ yourwebsite. This is when you positively influence theposition of your website in Google, so it appearsas high as possible.

But there are other ‘online’ channels that footwearretailers should be looking at, namely eBay andAmazon.

eBay and Amazon are the two largest websites inthe UK and their influence is growing. According to Retail Week their combined marketshare is one fifth of the UK’s ecommerce market. Many retailers have started selling onboth these sites, as it is relatively cheap to start up. However, what stops many movingacross to these channels is that it is another sales channel to manage and it is timeconsuming to upload product information and stock levels. Web-based retail systems, suchas Cybertill, allow real time integration into eBay and Amazon so when stock is sold theproducts are removed. But what’s more they allow retailers to ‘click and sell’ as they canupload product information (such as images, stock levels, product description) at the touchof a button.

Today, independent footwear retailers need to be seen beyond their high street, and this istrue of online as well. eBay and Amazon are perfect sales channels for retailers togenerate additional revenue for their business whilst extending their reach.

� Ian Tomlinson is chief executive of Cybertill.

Retailers need morethan ecommerce

www.cybertill.co.ukinfo@cybertill.co.uk

0800 030 4459

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By Jack Brown, footwear technical consultant at Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services.

THE footwear supply chain is long and complex with theretailer, its agents and the manufacturers all striving to get theright design at the right price onto the shelves at the righttime.

Ensuring that the shoe fits, is made ethically, is fit for purposeand of good quality are key elements to keep returns andcomplaints at a low level and to improve customer loyalty andbrand image. Sustainability and the environment are alsoincreasing concerns. And in addition to all of the above, arethe actual legal obligations of the retailer and its supply chainpartners. But what exactly are these legal requirements from aquality and technical point of view?

The main regulatory requirements for the footwear industry can be summarised asfollowed:

1. The European General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC) – producers anddistributors shall take all the reasonable steps to ensure that the products they sell aresafe. For footwear, this entails such as the heel attachment property of the shoe, the slipresistance of the shoe sole, the strength of straps and seams when under stress, theadhesion of the sole to the upper to prevent dangerous flapping toes.

2. Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals or the REACHDirective (EU Regulation EC 1907/2006) – companies that place products onto the EUmarket including manufacturers, importers and retailers of footwear, need to ensure thattheir products do not contain substances that have been classified as RestrictedSubstances as per REACH Annex XVII. If you are a retailer of footwear, you need to beaware that consumers can request to be informed of any potential SVHC contained in theshoes you sell. In this instance, you shall be prepared to answer consumers’ questionsabout the presence of SVHC in shoes and provide sufficient information to allow a safe useof these shoes within 45 days.

3. The European Labelling Directive for Footwear 94/11/EC – shoes sold to the generalpublic must meet either the written text or pictogram requirements of the Directive and thepublic must be informed at the point of sale what all of the symbols actually mean to allowthem to make an informed judgement as to the material make up of the shoes.

The health and safety of the consumer is still paramount as is compliance with the law.Litigation claims for personal injury are very common and unlikely to go away. It may beappropriate to introduce an “intelligent testing and due diligence” approach and target themost important properties of the product from a legal and safety point of view. In otherwords focus more on heel attachment, sole bond, slip resistance and REACH.

What are the regulatoryrequirements for footwear?

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