Footwear Insight

footwearinsight.com January / February 2022 ~ Footwear Insight • 15 "e biggest challenges for us have been not from the customer, but having team members to service them. A company's culture is something that can make or break an organization so in order to not just hire team members but retain them we have to have the buy-in all the way down to the ground level or it just doesn't work. We invest in our team just like they invest with us. Creating personal relationships with each member of the team will translate into an increased level of engagement that will not just benefit your business, but your customers as well. As for the supply chain issue — it is not unique to our industry, and at this point most all consumers are aware of the challenges. Our team has done an incredible job of adapting and getting what products we are able to as soon as they become available. We are not stuck on specific stock numbers or brands, but we focus on the silhouettes that are needed to service our community and so far we have been able to find those from someone." —Adam Beck, Beck's Shoes "Staying in front of the supply chain and keeping up with demand [has been hard]. Customers are going to get discouraged when a store is out of stock on the product they want. We have continually put a lot of emphasis on planning ahead and securing product to help keep our stock availability as high as possible. I keep finding myself saying that we just have to show up each day and do the best we can with the tools and resources that we have available." — Dillon Dardano, Dardano's Shoes "We saw a decrease in our business for the first time in over 12 years [during the initial COVID shutdowns], but we rebounded in 2021 and finished ahead of our successful 2019. e toughest obstacles we have been facing are the ability to keep our inventory at the levels we need. We are operating with a deficit of 25-to-30 percent... But these challenges have not affected our ability to provide great customer service as our staff have become more diligent in offering as much selection as possible. Also, we have stepped up our online presence by enhancing our website and adding weekly social media posts — announcing new product arrivals, staff introductions and footwear promotions." —Terry Trentini, Terry's Shoes "Our biggest challenges have been ones that most stores are facing — receipt of inventory, slowed shipping windows, not knowing what will be received from orders placed, et cetera. We have been so fortunate because we have a fantastic sales team, some who have been in the shoe business for over 40 years, and a wonderful, loyal customer base. is has allowed our team to knowledgeably suggest alternate product selections that our customers are receptive toward, keeping them happy in comfortable footwear." — Perry Calhoun, e Shoe Market "Our home town, Houma, Louisiana, took almost a direct hit from Hurricane Ida and we were closed for several weeks. While we can't control Mother Nature, we were lucky enough not to have roof damage while the remainder of our strip center had substantial roofing issues and many of the retailers here had water damage as a result. We even reopened before all of our utilities were back up and customers shopped to replace what they had lost during the storm. Additionally, supply chain issues have been extremely difficult to overcome. We've booked out our core products well ahead of when we Helping out a customer: Comfort One Shoes. WHAT WERE SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES THIS PAST YEAR WHEN IT CAME TO DELIVERING GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE? HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THOSE CHALLENGES? Finding the right fit: Stan's Fit For Your Feet.

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