What inspired you to start the business?
I have got wide feet and through my wealth management job in the city I meet lots of female entrepreneurs all the time – it’s part of the job really. One day I was bemoaning the fact that you can never find nice wide fit shoes, and certainly nothing in the luxury space. The female entrepreneur I was speaking to said: “Why don’t you do it yourself?” I said I wouldn’t know where to start, but she said she would put me in touch with a factory. It was around 2011 when I had that conversation, and I soft launched the business last year.
How did you get started?
On my first maternity leave I started visiting factories and trying to find a shoe supplier in the UK. People are really behind British manufacturing but the reality is that it was difficult – there were literally about three companies that were suitable. I finally found this one in London, they do my “hand made in England” range.
It took a good couple of years to find manufacturers, get the lasts [moulds used to construct shoes] made and do the designs. Then the factory started making the shoes for me last year, and I started officially trading.
Are you working full-time on the business?
At the moment I am doing this and my other job in wealth management, where I am on a reduced working basis. I do love the job I do at the moment, but I realised there was a gap in the market for this business.
How are wide-fit shoes perceived?
People view wide-fit shoes in a negative light, they think they are frumpy and unattractive. They think wide-fit means big people, but it doesn’t at all. My feet got wider when I had a baby – I had to get rid of half my shoes.
Who is your target customer?
Initially I was thinking younger fashionable women, but in reality my market now is women in their 30s, professional women who need stilettos for work, but want them in a wider fit.
I started with a hand made in England range, which I still do, but realised people don’t necessarily want to wait three weeks for shoes [to be made]. So I found a manufacturer in Spain for a ready to wear collection.
Why aren’t wide-fit shoes more common?
I don’t think shoe manufacturers have updated their sizes. The standard sizes that lasts are made to at the moment were last changed in the 1970s. People are generally getting bigger and taller. The average shoe size is a six at the moment and used to be a five or a four. I also think a lot more young girls wear heels at an earlier age and give themselves problems by the time they get to their 30s. Women come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and that includes their feet. You are missing a trick if you don’t cater for them.
What’s your next move?
Getting shoe shops up and down the country to stock the shoes. For the next 12 months I will be getting good stockists and growing the brand abroad too. I already sell to the Netherlands, as well as Scandinavian countries and America. And I had an inquiry this week from Australia.
What advice would you offer to would-be entrepreneurs?
It is difficult, I won’t pretend it’s easy. For me it’s all about managing my time really. People have been very helpful but certainly my unofficial mentor has been Janan [Leo, from Cocorose London].
So I’d say, forget all the noise around you and just focus on what you are doing. If you believe in it, just keep on and do it. It is easy to get distracted by competitors and other people. You can’t do anything about them, you can only influence what you are doing. Don’t give up.
Katie Owen is the founder of Sargasso & Grey
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