Boys, how many times have you fallen in love with a luxurious pair of leather brogues and then almost had a seizure when seeing the price tag? All mens magazines will insist that the well dressed gent invest in a high quality, premium pair of lace-ups, but often the pair of shoes they direct you to are way out of your price range. Its one thing to spend a hundred or so pounds on a pair of shoes, but quite another to spend double (or triple) that. On saying that, that doesn’t necessarily mean you want to be shopping for shoes on the high street either.
Duggers of London are the solution to all your shoe woes. The father-son duo have set up an online store selling premium leather shoes at reasonable prices. I caught up with the founders to find out more about the brand, how you set up a successful independent fashion business and what we can expect from menswear footwear moving forward.
Please introduce yourselves.
Mark & Paul Dugdale – Duggers of London. Our office is based in a village near the city of St. Albans in Hertfordshire.
Where can we find you?
Twitter: @Duggersof london, Our site: duggersoflondon.wordpress.com/, on Facebook: www.facebook.com/
How did the idea of Duggers of London come about?
It might be worth referencing the blog post here: duggersoflondon.
Duggers came about during a discussion about shoes a few years ago over a large Brandy and a Cuban cigar! I was talking about how difficult it was to find a really good pair of shoes (without paying a small fortune for them) & We both saw an opportunity. So we agreed to combine our skills using my fathers 30 years of experience in the shoe business and my knowledge of digital marketing & Duggers was born! (Duggers is the nickname both of us answered to during our school years!)
Duggers of London is a marriage of footwear and digital expertise. How has the rise of ecommerce impacted the way people purchase high-quality footwear?
More and more people are purchasing their shoes online & it’s now possible for customers from all over the world to purchase from your website which creates tremendous opportunity. Men, are also not keen on heading to the high street so if they trust your brand they will buy online again and again.
What is, and continues to be, the biggest challenges you face setting up Duggers of London?
Brand awareness and convincing potential customers to buy from a relatively unknown brand. It’s a trust issue….but those that have purchased have given us tremendous feedback (just look at the reviews on our site) and have purchased again.
What advice would you offer those trying to launch a small independent fashion business?
Know your customer, be confident in your product and try not to expect success overnight.
You reference London in your brand name, what do you think differentiates British menswear, namely footwear, from other European capitals?
British footwear is renowned for it’s quality and craftsmanship all over the world & it’s this (along side our heritage & history) that distinguishes London from other European capital cities. No other country has such a long history in shoemaking.
Men are becoming more style conscious and more daring when it comes to fashion, how did this impact you when you were curating your collection?
Our focus remains on classic style with a contemporary twist. Men will always revert back to tried and tested design so we don’t want to push the boundaries too far. Quality of materials and finish are more important to us than anything else.
‘Sustainability’ was the buzz word of the moment at London Fashion Week, and is set to to be at London Collections Men too. What does sustainable footwear and craftsmanship mean to you?
Shoes that stand the test of time – well made and long lasting. Duggers of London shoes will last for many years if well looked after – what’s more sustainable than that?
Who inspires you in British menswear? If you could pick one pair of shoes from your current collection to make for women, which pair would it be and why?
The Paul – an antiqued brogue that would look wonderful on a women. Named after Paul as he loves them so much!
What’s next for Duggers of London?
An extension of our range & a potential move into other menswear products….watch this space!
ooooo definitely going to check this brand out now!
i’ve thought about investing in a pair of ralph lauren brogues but the price tag is a huge issue
so thanks for this post!!
xx
http://anoddgirl.blogspot.com.au
Nice interview. I love this brogues
As someone trying to set up my own fashion business, I found this article really informative. I wish Duggers the best of luck!
Corrie