Tipperary shoe shop fits the bill for those with large feet

Good business ideas can be inspired in the strangest ways. For Ms Nicola Wade, the seminal moment came on a shopping trip to London when a family member bought seven pairs of shoes.

Ms Wade suddenly realised the business idea she was seeking had been staring her in the face all along.

The family member in question was no eccentric; she just had bigger-than-normal feet, and couldn't find a shop in Ireland to cater for her needs.

For women whose feet are size nine or over, shoe-buying trips to Britain, France, Spain and even the US have long been a fact of life.

Thanks to Ms Wade and her husband, Robert, who have set up Tipptoes in the village of Ardmayle, five miles from Cashel, Co Tipperary, that is no longer necessary.

Opened in October 1997, Tipptoes deals exclusively in size nine to 11 shoes for women.

Ms Wade does not know how many women there are in this category, but in its first year of operation - relying mainly on word of mouth to advertise the business - she had inquiries from between 400 and 500 women.

"We get customers from all over the country. We're in a good location - two hours from Dublin and two hours from Kerry - but we've had people from Mayo and even Donegal," she says.

Brands like Easy Spine, Sebago and JD Martin are available at Tipptoes, but most of the leading shoe companies don't make them any bigger than size eight or eight-and-a-half, according to Ms Wade, who before setting up Tipptoes worked as an accounting technician in her native Midleton.

That doesn't mean, however, that size nines and over must settle for whatever is available.

"We go for dressier shoes that allow women to choose a pair which suits an outfit, as opposed to buying the shoes first and then having to find an outfit to match.

"Just because you have big feet doesn't mean you have to have boring shoes."

As a retail outlet, Ms Wade's business idea did not qualify for the type of support a manufacturing enterprise might get, despite its obvious potential as a niche product.

So she and her husband had to go it alone from the start.

They began by asking foreign embassies for addresses of international shoe companies.

"We used to write the letters at night and wait for the replies to come back. We contacted about 700 companies and got five that made the type of shoes we wanted," she says.

Now, with the business established, they intend checking out international trade fairs in pursuit of further suppliers.

In the meantime, Tipptoes' customer base is likely to grow, especially if Ms Wade goes ahead with plans to cater for men with larger feet.

The shop is open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday to Saturday inclusive, but will also cater for customers outside those hours.

It is located in what the Wades originally intended to be the garage of their home, so being available outside normal hours does not pose many difficulties.

Ms Wade is working on a catalogue which may be ready later this year, but in any event at least one visit to the shop is advised for a personal fitting before a purchase is made.

Tipptoes can be contacted at 0504-42513.