Shoe Stop had zero revenue for eight full weeks while the store was shut down due to the pandemic this summer, but they are bouncing back just in time for their one-year anniversary in the new location.
“We’re still digging out, but things are looking up. I hope we don’t have to go through it again,” said owner Mark Shively. “Since we reopened on May 25 we are having good sales.”
This time last year, Shively and his staff were clearing out the old store on South Frederica Street, simultaneously beginning operations at their new location in Wesleyan Park Plaza.
Shively said for a few months after they moved people didn’t know where they were so sales dipped, but since December Shoe Stop was increasing sales until about March 15.
“At that time we were doing half of what we should have been doing because everyone was scared to death and didn’t want to get out,” Shively said.
Even with limitations and regulations now, Shively said business has been going well the last few weeks, all things considered. He’s also glad they made the move a year ago.
“We are glad to be in our location,” he said. “We’re right in the center of town. We’ve had many people compliment us being here versus on the east side. Everybody in the center, most are locally-owned merchants. Everybody out here wants to work together. We want to be known as the hometown shopping center.”
Shively and his sister Julie McDonald, who is the general manager, opened the original Shoe Stop location together in June of 1999. They eventually grew that building to 12,000 square feet of sale space.
Their current location has 18,000 square feet of sale space, which Shively said leads to a better overall shopping experience with benefits such as wider aisles and lower stacks of boxes.
Shively also commended his staff, saying their positive attitude and kindness to customers is vital for the company’s popularity in the community.
“We try to be nice to people,” he said. “We try to help them. We are involved in the community. We want to be a part of the community.”
As a local business owner, Shively said he knows they must stay competitive and carry the right product. Businesses like his depend on local shoppers to survive, especially in times like these.
“A percentage of our volume stays in this community instead of shipping it out of town, and I think people are more aware of that now since this whole COVID thing has been going on than they have ever been,” he said. “When customers say they like shopping local, I don’t expect them to pay any more for it. I don’t expect any of that business to be handed to us — we have to earn it every day.”
As part of their anniversary celebration, Shoe Stop is giving away a $10 gift card to the first 50 customers in line when they open at 9 a.m. today. They will also be giving away larger-value gift cards over the weekend — $250 at 12 p.m. Saturday; $100 at 7 p.m. Saturday; and $250 at 3 p.m. Sunday. Registration for those will be 10 minutes prior to the drawings.
Shively knows there’s still work to be done to fully recover from the pandemic, but he’s in it for the long haul.
“I’m not going anywhere soon,” he said. “We had a tough year this year. It’ll take us a year to overcome what we just went through. I may work less hours because I’ve got to slow down sometime a little bit. But I can never see myself getting completely out of it.”
