Put your best foot forward this Christmas by shopping at the Shoe Suite

But it was Cork woman Florence O' Dwyer who really put the theory to the test — and who ultimately proved it right, conquering much of Ireland through the power of great footwear alone.

When Florence opened the first O'Dwyers Footwear store in Midleton over 60 years ago, there was no way of predicting the success it would become. Today, the third-generation family business operates six stores nationwide, five of which were opened by Florence's son David O'Dwyer and trade under two different names, O'Dwyers Footwear and Shoe Suite. 

Over the course of their six decades in business, there have been countless challenges to navigate – including several economic downturns, the Covid-19 pandemic and, of course, the boom in online shopping — which make the family’s success story all the more impressive.

It is the continued success of the Shoe Suite on Cork city’s Maylor Street, however, that is particularly notable.

The third and newest of the O’Dwyer’s stores in Cork, Shoe Suite opened in 2011 on what was a very different Maylor Street at the time. Since then, there have been many losses to the area — including the devastating closure of Debenhams in 2020 — which have had a massive impact on footfall for remaining businesses there.

“While the closure of Debenhams and other changes in the area have impacted footfall, the Shoe Suite continues to thrive by focusing on the personalised service and quality that sets it apart from larger retail stores,” explains Mark O’Dwyer, owner of Shoe Suite and the third generation of his family to run the business.

“We’re definitely eager for more people to know where we are. We’re very lucky to have a solid base of fantastic, loyal customers though, so thankfully we are still doing well.”

These dedicated customers that keep Shoe Suite in business have been won over by the store for many reasons during its 13 years in operation. In Mark’s eyes, one of the most important factors is the fantastic staff on the shop floor, who offer unbeatable customer service that is just as much of a draw as the vast array of quality shoes.

“We know our customers by name in a majority of cases, and they know us,” Mark shares. “We have a tightknit team of 16 people across both our Cork city stores (The Shoe Suite on Maylor Street and O’Dwyers Footwear on Oliver Plunkett Street). They are a very loyal, passionate group of staff who have decades of footwear experience between them. A lot of the senior team in the Shoe Suite have been working there all 13 years, so they’ve gotten to know the customers really well within that time and customers, in turn, know and trust them.

“That’s an important point of difference for an independent outlet like ourselves. While some department stores might have a massive range, they don’t have the service to match it — customers could get lost in a big place like that. We pride ourselves on a more personalised service, as well as only stocking quality product. That’s the way we’ve always been, and it’s what our customers know us for.”

The quality product on offer at Shoe Suite for both men and women includes top international brands such as Gabor, Rieker, Ara, Wonders, Hispanitas, Marco Moreo, Paul Green and more. These reputable European lines are all about sustainability — something that the O’Dwyer family business has long championed themselves.

“Our customers care about value for money, and that’s what we provide. The average price of our shoes is around €130, so there are certainly places where you could pick up a pair of shoes in the latest fashion at a lower price point than ours, but you’d have to replace them a dozen times over compared to the use you would get out of a quality pair from the Shoe Suite.

“In Cork city alone, we have 46 different brands available between our two stores. There’s a great selection of top quality European brands to choose from, but we’re highly selective about the brands we stock so as we can ensure that high quality aspect of the product. When you’re sourcing your product from a load of different factories on the other side of the world, that are all producing in mass volumes, it’s hard to sustain that same level of quality.

“Traceability of the product is really important too — our buyer/manager in our Midleton store, Deirdre Hourihan, does a lot of our social media videos, and they’re really popular as they help our customers understand the process of what we’ve bought, where it’s from, why we’ve bought it and what the latest trends are. Customers are responding really well to those videos, and I think it’s because they care where their shoes are from, and any of our staff in-store can talk them through those details as well.”

Having knowledgeable staff who can an answer any and all questions is something customers will always appreciate — but, as Mark points out, it’s particularly important at Christmas, when there are plenty of clueless gift givers roaming wild!

“We’d definitely see guys coming in in a mad panic on Christmas Eve who haven’t any idea what they’re looking for and in need of a steer,” he laughs. “Shoes can be a very tricky gift to give in fairness, as a lot of people might prefer to try them on and pick them out for themselves. That’s why our gift cards tend to be a lot more popular at this time of year, as well as the handbags, accessories and gift sets we have in-store. We can definitely help you choose the right gift for anyone, even if you have no idea what their shoe size is!”

So, whether you're hoping to find the perfect present for that special someone — or maybe just to treat yourself over the festive season — there’s no better place to be this Christmas than at the Shoe Suite!

See more at www.shoesuite.ie or visit in-store.

The Shoe Suite

16-17 Maylor Street 

Co Cork 

T12 T218