UGG of Australia in Sevenoaks

Now here at Hoads we have always been huge fans of UGG but felt that we needed to wait for the right time to add them to our collection and we are VERY excited to announce that time is now.

A few months ago we headed to UGG of Australia’s beautiful, minimalistic and modern show room in London to view their Autumn Winter 2013 and (whisper it) Spring Summer 2014 collections. For those of you who might not know UGG of Australia (UGG) started as in Australia as a way for surfers to keep their feet warm in between sessions, they turned to hand-made basic sheepskin "footies" for natural warmth, comfort and to wick away moisture. In 1978 Brain Smith fell in love with the idea of these boots and founded the brand “UGG” which became a symbol of relaxed southern California culture, gaining momentum through surf shops and other shops up and down the coast of California, from San Diego to Santa Cruz. Not long after that UGG boots were seen in the bigger cities and when winter came along, UGG boots were in ski shops and were seen in lodges from Mammoth to Aspen. The UGG brand began to symbolize those who embraced sport and a relaxed, active lifestyle.

By the end of the 90’s, celebrities and those in the fashion world took notice of the UGG brand which brought about the evolution of UGG from a brand making sheepskin boots, slippers, clogs and sandals for an active, outdoor lifestyle to a brand that was now seen as a symbol of a stylish, casual and luxurious lifestyle. Before long the UGG collection branched out into everything from knit boots to sneakers to wedges, all the while sticking to their roots of the luxurious and comforting feel of sheepskin lined footwear.

UGG Australia is now an international brand that is loved by many due to their “magical combination of the amazing functional benefits of sheepskin and the heightened emotional feeling you get when you slip them on your feet” (http://www.uggaustralia.co.uk/the-story-of-ugg/story-ugg,en_GB,pg.html).

What immediately struck us as we entered the UGG show room was the array of styles and colours they have used for their new collection. Unfortunately we are unable to show you any photos of the new 2014 styles but as soon as we can they will be posted here! However we can confirm that we will be stocking the Classic Boot in three colours – Chestnut, Black and Chocolate and we can also confirm that the retail price has been reduced to £150!!

We only bought a small selection of UGG as we are new to the brand and wanted to see what reaction it would invoke from you all so please feel free to let us know your opinions.

We will have our first drop of UGG boots in October (they are in now!) and a new boot style coming in in January (a waterproof UGG sssh!). The Spring Summer collection will not be with us until March time but it is definitely worth the wait.

All About Hoads

Welcome to our new blog!

We thought we would start with a little introduction to the business :

 

C F Hoad & Sons Ltd was established in Sevenoaks in 1898 and has been serving the consumers of Kent for 115 years to date. Now being run by the fourth generation of the same family, it is managed by cousins James and John Hoad who are joint Managing Directors.

Hoad Shoes was originally formed by Charles Frank Hoad, the Manager of Marsh Ltd and 107 Red Boot Stores, which at the time was owned by the Marsh family. Towards the end of 1897 the Marsh family retired and sold their business to Charles Hoad, and so in 1898 Hoad’s began to trade. For the first sixty years all genders were sold from the original store. However, in the early 1960?s an additional store for children’s shoes was purchased in London Road, Sevenoaks.

Over the last 110 years CF Hoad & Son has seen many changes, while continually developing and updating the way we present our self in a comprehensive and highly competitive modern environment. We have achieved this whilst also keeping the traditional elements of quality fitting footwear and superior customer service at the forefront of our progressive development.

We continue to trade from our two Sevenoaks stores as well as our recently opened shops in Wandsworth and Deal, all of our stores offer a wide choice of brands and styles which are complemented by our customer service. All of our staff are trained using our in-house training programme and are then offered the chance to progress to a one year intensive course with the Society of Shoe Fitters. Our willing sales assistants are always on hand to help with your footwear requirements and general enquiries that you may have.

As well as offering an appointment service for specialist fittings we provide orthotics for foot disabilities using the Aetrex Istep (more details here) foot scanner and are recommended by a number of Doctors, Chiropodists, Podiatrists and Physiotherapists. We also offer an odd sized shoe service, where we will split shoes up for customers who have a large difference in the size of their feet. We are more than happy to order in certain shoes that may be out of stock at the time of your enquiry and those styles that we do not stock subject to a non refundable postage fee.

We believe that Hoad’s has thrived for so long because of our relationships with our customers and with developing our Loyalty scheme in recent months we believe our relationships are better than ever (sign up here). Coming to Hoad’s is a true shopping experience whether you make an appointment at our children’s shop for a first shoe fitting service and receive a photograph of your child in their new shoes or you happen to pass us by while out for lunch with friends and just pop in for a browse are staff are more than happy to help.

Any further questions or special requests please do not hesitate to contact us, we look forward to seeing you in store soon.

Contact us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and view our full range of products here www.hoadshoes.co.uk.