Page 1 - CerTek - Shoefly -6-15-16
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Shoefly

According to Meg Roebuck, what brought her and future Shoefly co-owner Jana Rome together in 2003 was an
idea – and seeing a gap in the market. The two working moms had bonded on instant messenger over the fact
that there didn’t seem to be a pure shoe store for women in their town of Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham
Alabama. In spite of there being lots of little retail villages and boutique stores, there was a significant void
when it came to trendy women’s shoes and fashions.

A Labor of Love and Family

Together, Roebuck and Rome set about to rectify          Since then, the store became a labor of love and
this – opening Shoefly, a distinct, one-stop             family: Over the course of 13 years, husbands and
destination boutique for women’s shoes and               children were enlisted to be temporary staff and
clothing. Their goals from the beginning were            helpers. By 2016, Shoefly could boast a staff of two
to offer a personalized experience, curate and           full-time employees, four part-time girls during the
comment on the latest trends and style, and provide      week and several teachers who helped out by filling
footwear, clothing and jewelry to customers looking      on Saturdays. Shoefly keeps up with customers
for something different from the big chain store         through their Instagram, regular emails and
experience.                                              specialized store events.

“We try to offer the best and most in-style options for  Their goals from the beginning were to
 people at a nonboutique price,” said Roebuck. “We       offer a personalized experience.
 get a lot of comments about how people love coming
 to us instead of a large chain store.”
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