The current custodians of a family shoe business say its sturdy fit in the community helped it step towards the 75-year milestone.
Craig Taylor first joined Taylors Footwear Store Ltd in Richmond in 1974 as the second generation after his father Cliff started the business next to their Queen St family home in 1948.
Craig says the shop originally offered shoe repairs, but Cliff’s purchase of a dozen pairs for resale set off the store’s retail journey.
He says the premises grew four times, and from 1966 the store operated in other areas of Richmond before finding the right fit at its current Queen St location in 1977.
In reflecting on 75 years of the business, Craig says customer loyalty and putting the best business foot forward had helped the store, which has since rebranded to Taylors We Love Shoes, sell thousands of pairs to generations of local families.
“We’ve been able to target our market and provide the shoes that we read the market wanted and that’s resulted in visitors coming to Nelson and saying ‘gosh, I wish we had a shoe shop like this in Auckland, or Wellington or Christchurch’, because it’s got just such a lovely range of shoes,” he says.
“We see families and we’re now serving their third generation of kids, not in kid’s shoes but adult shoes and so our shoe club is a significant number which in itself is a sign of the loyalty that we’ve built over the years.”
Craig says the community support had also helped the family store overcome tight trading times, supply chain shifts from domestic to overseas-made footwear, and being on the backfoot of other shoe retailers which offered lower-cost children’s shoes, and specialised sports shoes and work boots.
He says two generations of the Taylor family had followed in his footsteps to have ties working in the family business and his soul-mate, Jan, also joined when Taylors opened its second store in Nelson in 1993.
“We saw potential to open a branch in Nelson and once we were able to identify a good premises we went for it, but the saddest thing is that we opened in March 1993 and [Cliff] died in January 1993 so he never actually saw the opening,” he says.
“It was always a big wish of his for us to have a store in Nelson, he knew it was going to happen but unfortunately, he never saw it.
“We’ve had people come into the shop and say how they will never forget him, because when things were tough and their families couldn’t afford shoes, my dad used to say to them, ‘We’ll put shoes on your feet, and you can just pay for them when you can’.”
Craig says his family’s firm footing will keep the business running for many miles ahead.
