Blast from the Past: Shoe Stores, Branding, & Marketing
Jan 21 , 2021
Tags - Shoe Stores in the UK
Shoe stores turn into their own brands, that, in turn, attracts their own customer personas for different occasions. I am sure, each of you have had a different emotional association with the stores that you have visited through your lifetime.
Even as a kid, I remember being pulled into shoe stores by my parents, most of which I did not enjoy because, in most cases, I did not want to be in these specific stores.
In general, children in social groups want to go towards fashion and trends. And quite frankly, parents generally come from the perspective of comfort.
Away from the background chit chat, in this blog, I just wanted to explore some of the stores you may have visited since you were growing older back in the 70s/80s to now.
Which of these can you remember?
Clarks
This was my favourite. To be fair, even my parents liked Clarks because it represented good quality at affordable prices, with options from casual to more sporty.
In addition, Clarks provided exceptional service. My feet being professionally measured, and walking out with some cool shoes, is one of my earliest memories.
I can still remember the shoes with lights and wheels, which seemed supercool to the kid me. I still see them on kids these days.
M&S and C&A
Marks and Spencer, C&A back then, was my least favourite.
Quite frankly, M&S did little to engage kids. However, they do resonate with their own crowd, generally a little older.
M&S pride in their own in-house brand and have a high quality range at extremely affordable prices. Away from shoes, Since the 90’s, M&S has positioned themselves by providing high quality food and luxury names as well, competing with the likes of Waitrose.
John Lewis
At least in Leicester, where I am based, John Lewis was a late arrival.
In an interesting market placement strategy, John Lewis have positioned themselves well with casual as well as shoes that complement the general clothing and other items that they sell.
JJB Sports
Another one high on my preference list, JJB was always a fun experience, especially when buying trainers or sporting goods.
However, from college onwards, I switched to JD for my sports footwear. In addition, JD also used to provide a great range of Timberland boots.
Office
If you were looking for a good deal, and a provider who has an all year round sale, then you may have turned to Office.
Things were a little tricky here as you had to be fully aware of your fitting before buying anything. The store also had stock issues and you were basically trying out your luck with the shapes that you liked.
Conclusion
Last year, in 2019, I ran my first 5k.
And, I realised that it’s not the running that I hate but the uncomfortable shoes.
That's why it’s important to find the right fitting: which is exactly what we do. It’s not just about the length but the width too.
What stops stores from providing options on the front of width is the ability to hold stock. It is simply not possible to hold every shoe in every size and possible width.
Therefore, at Jhuti, we have made it our mission to provide the right size for you through a made to order shoe business.
To learn more, get in touch with us today.
In the meantime, check our range of comfortable shoes.
You may also like: