Shoedini, an independent children’s shoe shop in Broughton, has reached the finals of three national awards.
Despite being open for just over a year, Shoedini has made the finals of the Independent Footwear Retailer of the Year at the prestigious Drapers Awards. They have also been shortlisted for two awards at the National Business Women’s Awards 2020.
The Drapers Footwear Awards recognises and celebrates outstanding performances, innovation and creativity amongst retailers, brands and individuals in the fast-paced footwear sector.
"Both awards mean so much to us," said Samantha Tarbit, Director of Shoedini. "For someone who began in Footwear many moons ago, left the industry and returned so late in her years to begin her own shoe shop dream – it’s such an honour to be considered to sit alongside the greats at Drapers!"
Samantha says that she did not believe that Shoedini would reach the finals of the National Business Women’s Awards. They have been shortlisted for the finals of Best New Business and the finals of Service Excellence.
She continued: "There are so many industrious, hardworking and enterprising businesswomen included in the Finals. I have never felt so out of depth and so honoured to reach this far for our little shoe shop.
"These are women who have worked incredibly hard our entire lives to raise the profiles of our brands with so many things ready to hold us back. Like them, I am already so proud of our achievements with Shoedini and being included in the Finals of two of the most important categories that a customer centric business like mine should focus on, already recognises that."
Shoedini is home to the only two fully-qualified shoe fitters in Milton Keynes. Having studied anatomy in relation to footwear, their work is so skilled that podiatrists and chiropodists frequently refer children to them.
Throughout lockdown, Shoedini continued to trade virtually to ensure that children continued to wear correctly fitted shoes. Shoedini was one of the very first Members of the Society of Shoe Fitters to offer full virtual appointments for fittings.
This week, Samantha was invited to sit on the British Footwear Association's panel for their Restart For Retail webinar, alongside the CEO of Clinkards, Head of Operations of Clarks, and Dune's Sales Director. Shoedini was the only Independent Footwear Retailer invited to share their innovative and proactive response to COVID-19.
The winner of the Drapers awards will be announced w/c 6th August for a weeklong virtual celebration with attendees and finalists. And, the National Business Women’s Awards 2020, which is made up of 19 categories, will take place on Friday 20th November 2020.
