Vancouver-based shoe retailer Ingledew’s celebrated its 100th anniversary last month with the grand opening of its new flagship store at 900 West Hastings.
The new store, a bright, white update to the old Chanel location, will carry Ingledew’s premium selection of shoes like Stuart Weitzman, Ecco and more, along with its long-standing in-house label.
Over the past 100 years, the family-owned and -operated company has grown from one store on Granville Street to six throughout the province, and seen their buildings occasionally swallowed up by retail giants Hudson’s Bay and Pacific Centre as they, too, expanded.
Bill Ingledew, CEO and grandson of founder William Ingledew, says that while his grandfather had no prior fashion or retail experience when he came out west in 1899 (his life until then was mainly centred around fishing on Lake Ontario), he believed in three pillars that the company still abides by today:
First, provide relevant, contemporary fashion.
“We don’t carry Jimmy Choo, Prada, a lot of these ultra-expensive lines of shoes,” says Bill, “simply because they really aren’t relevant to the majority of our market.”
Second, ensure that each shoe is of the best quality for its price point, be it a $50 sandal or a $500 boot.
And third (and the tenet Bill says has been most important to their success), is a commitment to finding each customer’s perfect fit.
“Everybody’s feet are different, everybody has feet that don’t match,” explains Bill, “so we spend a lot of time measuring both feet and making sure that whatever the customer selects, we offer them the best possible fit in that style.”
Along with the opening of their new flagship, Ingledew’s will also be launching their official online store later this year. Once you’ve been by the store to get properly sized, you’ll be able to find the same extensive selection of widths and styles online.
Bill, who was among a handful of trendsetting Vancouver retailers who started scouting fashion in Europe in the ‘70s, has seen many fashion fads come and go in his four decades as CEO, but one thing that has remained the same is Vancouver’s particular sense of fashion.
“One of the real challenges,” says Bill with a smile, “is that something over there that inspired me... when I brought it home with me it completely died because our market is not Milan. We’re not Paris. We’re not Barcelona. So I learned at a very early age that it’s not about finding the latest and greatest fashion that’s over there, it’s finding the thing that’s most relevant to our market here.”
Bill says he started like all Ingledews before him – on the floor helping customers. And he still wakes up every day at 3:30am to take the West Coast Express into Vancouver from his home in Mission. Sadly, he says he will be the last Ingledew involved in the business (his daughter Pascale was with the company for 24 years, but left to pursue a teaching career). However, he has had time to plan for the future, and brought on partner Pierre LeFebvre – the son of the shoe agent they have used for many years in Italy – to take over when he retires.
Which can only mean good news for the many multi-generational fans of the store, because if Ingledew’s knows a thing or two about anything, it’s finding the right fit.
