Should Footwear Retailers Offer Shoe Repair?
Footwear retailing and the challenges faced by footwear industry are so complex, requiring careful use of resources and store management tools. Why are some footwear retailers adding shoe repair products and services to their business plans? It’s simple: customers want the assurance of quality and a full range of services.
According to the Shoe Service Institute of America, shoe repair adds value to the investment in quality footwear by extending the life of the shoe. Men’s shoes can be re-soled 7 to 10 times if they are maintained correctly, and women’s shoes can be re-soled 3 to 5 times. Shoe repair also is important for keeping the original support of the shoe intact since uneven wear will eventually throw off the natural balance of the gait.
Shoe Repair Affects Careers
Careers can come to a stop when shoes are unkempt — one of the biggest mistakes hopeful candidates make, according to business recruiters, is wearing shoes that need maintenance. It might not seem fair, but grooming is used to gauge character all the time during an interview. Worn soles and cracked leather equate inattention to details and lack of ambition in many professional opinions.
Many times a customer who is shoe shopping will select the higher priced shoe that can be repaired because they want comfortable footwear that will serve as a foundation for their workday during a long career. This means that the customer will be looking for a reliable source of shoe repair, and if that source is connected with the retailer, there is a potential for many years of repeated sales.
Shoe Retail and Repair Make Good Partners
Since one of the characteristics of high quality shoes is the ability to repair them, footwear becomes an investment. Maintaining that investment increases its value. If your customers will be looking for ways to increase their investment by finding a source for repairing their shoes, why not make it part of the service you offer?
Today’s footwear retailer has to be flexible and compete in many ways unheard of previously. Fortunately, there are solutions for the Challenges faced by footwear industry and managing footwear operations by ChainDrive footwear ERP software.
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