In 2014, the Holt Renfrew team had a clear vision for their first Men’s flagship store at 100 Bloor, Toronto. The Shoe Shine Experience set a benchmark for quality, creativity, and luxury in men’s retailing. We were immediately drawn to the concept and set about working with their experiential, design, merchandising and buying teams. Our goal was to develop an innovative program that would support the footwear department’s sales goals featuring a customized shoeshine parlour operation and shoe care products.
Walter’s curated program for Holt Renfrew included the following:
- Walter’s collaborated with Holt Renfrew’s design / planning team to build a custom, co-branded 2-seater Shoe Shine Parlour.
- On-site visits and cross department support for construction, quality review, and project management.
- Full service delivery and installation.
- Two shoeshine staff were recruited and apprenticed under Walter’s Shine Specialists at Toronto International Airport, bringing the original “snap effect” to customers, and uniformed with luxury.
- Collaborated and setup a designated merchandising space at retail for Walter’s Shoe Care branded products.
- Conducted product knowledge training session for over 50 store staff and office personnel to cross sell a curated collection of Walter’s Shoe Care products.
- Assisted with daily operations and weekly scheduling.
- Executed various in-store promotion campaigns including a custom monogramming event for exclusive products.
- Partnership continues to grow with a 2015 Private Label Shoe Care Program and Shoe Shine Parlours launch in all stores across Canada.
