"I guess, for several years I had almost an anti-independent vibe to the way I did business" admits Newman, sheepishly "I wanted to bring the brand up to the likes of chain stores selling thousands of pairs of shoes a minute and forgot entirely the beauty of the product I had right in front of me."

This is, of course,  no longer the case for Mark Newman. The Newman's have had shoes in their blood for decades and decades, before Peter Newman began his battle to success in the South Eastern regions. Buying his first store in Margate back in

1981, the Peter Newman empire, now run successfully by son Mark, now boasts 14 stores in total and has significant plans in place for further growth, this growth, however, strikes a fantastic balance with key customers: old and new:

"When my father began the business, the shoe trade was a different game altogether. Modern vision of retail has changed phenomenally over the years with internet, direct selling and out of town shopping affecting trading on the High Street. The cost of a business is incredible these days with staggering rate increases on rent and bills, companies are almost given a pat on the back for breaking even. The challenges are just far greater now. People can, and will, buy shoes anywhere and for such low prices..."

These challenges are, however, ones which Mark Newman was destined to take on. As a small child, he was keener on setting up shop with Dad, than out playing in the streets.  

"I started working in store from the age of 13, after school I enrolled in a training school for Clarks in central London but decided, after tragically losing my mother to cancer, that after the course I wanted to be with my family and with the family business."

A modern day Peter Newman store stocks all the right brands for a successful mix for great sales, including its own brand, Laura James (named after Mark's two young children), revolutionary children's brand such as Gore Tex and Geox and more traditional brands like Clarks to give the business a real backbone.  The company also likes to try out a mix of old and new to get customers excited, but ensuring key loyal customers are not put off by change. 

The challenges of modern day trading have been taken on successfully by Mark, who has utilised his

modern day vision and launched an exciting shop redesign to be rolled out to all stores, a brand new e commerce site (www.shoes2udirect.com) and a new EPOS system which tracks sales and saleability so well, the business can keep track of itself efficiently.

The website has been an amazing success for the company. Having set up just two and half months ago, and with a series of investments in marketing online and promotion, they are now selling over twenty pairs a day, which is rapidly rising number week on week.

"We decided to drop Peter Newman from the name of the site to establish that this is something separate and outside of our South Eastern based business. We have found it astounding how many customers we have reached through the site that would not have been aware of us before. We have sold to seven new countries since launching and many areas in the UK miles from the Peter Newman stores."

The new computerised EPOS system is also the beginnings of a new look Peter Newman Shoes, as the business gets to know its key customers through data capture and is able to manage sale through of brands and keep the right mix in store. This, it seems, is just the tip of the iceberg, as Mark plans to bring in a series of new generation tills through to the store, self service kiosks, allowing customers to log on online if a product they desire is unavailable:

"This will be the next big step for the company. The challenge is to not be frightened of new advances in technology, but to use them for our benefit. Not only will the systems give us great sales results and help to maintain loyalty, but it will also be a talking point on the High Street and up our stakes in the towns we operate in!"

Of course, working with a handful of coastal towns in their portfolio meant that Peter Newman Shoes had a very difficult season in 2007 with the terrible weather conditions. With careful planning and organisation, it seems the business succeeded some of its potentially most crippling times, ending up with a cool eight hundred pairs of sandals less than the season before.

"We always try and work as closely with our suppliers as possible to react suitably to any scenario, and it seems, by cutting repeat orders and reacting fast, we prevailed this time.  Of course, it wasn't easy for anyone, but that is over now and we are looking positively to the future."

The next step for the Newman Empire is a focus back on the key attributes that make the store a charming place to shop: service and staffing, with a new emphasis on "back to basics" with staff training in measuring and general service in store.

"We can have all the advanced technology in the world, but we will never lose what got us to the top in the first place: Impeccable service and a warm inviting store to shop in." Concludes Mark.

With this concoction of old and new, traditional and advanced, it seems the Peter Newman Portfolio is only set for expansion. With all of the family's hard work throughout the footwear trade both on and behind the scenes, there could not be a more deserved family for success.

For more information on Peter Newman Shoes visit http://www.peternewmanshoes.co.uk/  

+44 (0)1227 742624

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