We take great pride in supporting the independent shoe shops who represent Start-Rite on the high street. We trust our independent retailers, including Billy Goat, to be our voice and showcase us to their community. We’re thrilled to focus our next installment of the ‘Retailer Spotlight’ series on their Hampshire store. We spoke to the business owner, Jo Hemsley, who has been at the heart of the business for over nine years.
Billy Goat have been trading as a bricks and mortar store for nine years and are situated on the main shopping street in the market town of Alresford, alongside many other beautiful independent shops. Alresford is particularly famous for its watercress, be it a watercress and cheese scone, watercress sausages, or even a watercress mojito! The town even has its own steam railway line, ‘The Watercress Line’ as it was used for transporting exactly that!
Jo explains: “We’ve sold Start-Rite shoes since we opened, as we viewed the brand as key to our success as a new shop in the town. Due to the strong reputation that parents and grandparents have with the brand, it was important to open our doors with Start-Rite shoes on the shelves. We went as far as contacting the brand a few years prior to opening to share our plans for the new shop! We often have parents come in and reminisce about how their parents always bought them Start-Rite shoes, and it’s building on that brand loyalty that we absolutely love when fitting out our customers.”
Upon opening Billy Goat, the team undertook over a year of training with the ‘Society of Shoe Fitters’ and local podiatrists to make sure they were versed in the professional fitting of children’s shoes. The whole and half sizes and multi width fittings that Start-Rite offer aid the team in achieving the perfect fit for feet of all different shapes and sizes, which is always the main goal for the staff.
The team find the appetite for quality shoes is certainly greater in those who shop at independent stores, and as a result, they’ve seen a marked popularity in Start-Rite’s most durable styles, and cite the best sellers as ‘Poppy’, ‘Rhino Warrior’, ‘Rhino Sherman’ and ‘Angry Angels Impact’. The team’s favourite Start-Rite product would have to be the ‘pre-walker’ collection with its super soft flexible soles, rubber toe and heel bumpers, and beautiful leather designs. The team feels confident that the collection offers enough protection for tiny feet, whilst allowing freedom to develop and grow naturally.
The team at Billy Goat is an eclectic mix of talents, made up of an actor, veterinary nurse, criminologist, historian, dancer, and even an artist! The team been working for more than five years together and are trained Start-Rite shoe fitters. A staple team of three is in the shop on a weekly basis, and they draft in extra help during the busy school holidays from an extended team returning from university studies.
Billy Goat proudly supports a refugee charity based in Swansea that provides clothes and shoes to asylum seekers, and they also sponsor two local youth football teams in which many of their lovely customers feature in their squad - Winchester City FC Under 7’s and Alresford Town U13’s!
This year, the owner Jo has been invited to be President of the local ‘Alresford Agricultural Show’ in recognition of the trusted service Billy Goat offers its local community. She tells us: “It’s a fantastic family event that brings together the town and the agricultural community and reminds us all about the beautiful countryside that we are surrounded by!”
Author: Vista, published 06-08-2024.
