|
humble beginnings . the future Tops for Shoes is located in downtown Asheville, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. Though we are a locally-owned, single store operation, we serve a six state region due to the fact that Asheville is a vacation destination. At its current location, Tops for Shoes fills nearly half a city block. The store is owned by Bob and Ellen Carr who took over operations from Ellen’s parents in the 1970's. Tops for Shoes offers an extensive selection of brands and sizes to fill most any customers’ needs. There are 40 salespeople with many years experience. Several members of our staff have been with Tops for Shoes more than fifteen years. Others came to us with many years of experience in the shoe industry under their belts. Our customers have come to trust people they’ve known a long time. Ellen Carr’s parents, Louis and Sylvia Resnikoff started out in a smaller building down the street from the current location in 1952. At first Tops was a general store. The terms "discount" and "outlet" didn’t exist then but our focus was on purchasing product to sell at a good price. The shoe department became more successful than the other departments and footwear became the focus. When Tops for Shoes moved to its current location at 27 North Lexington Avenue, the selection was widened to include men’s, women’s, and children’s shoes in 1,200 square feet. In 1984 Tops was expanded to its current 30,000 square feet by enclosing an alley that tied together all the elements of the various buildings and added a unique character to the customer’s shopping experience. Now we carry nearly 100,000 pairs of shoes and have the distinction of being the largest independent retailer in the Southeast for several brands that include Ecco, and Rockport. The Resnikoffs always stressed that the customers will tell you what you should be selling and that is still the driving force behind our purchasing decisions. Tops sold shoes in the lower price range in the earlier years but today is different. Most shoes in this country are sold by discount stores and are imported from the far east. Tops for Shoes does not attempt to compete in this arena but seeks out high quality lines that are a good value for our customers. Because the retail landscape is constantly shifting, Tops for Shoes is always looking for prospective improvements to keep our current customers happy and to attract new ones. We will always seek to rise to the challenge of balancing our product presentations for the best in shoe shopping for our region. Currently we are testing the waters of the internet which is a sea of shifting retail sands in itself. As customers return to our "virtual" store they will find that we will be adding new lines to the online experience and will seek to continue to listen to the voices of our new friends. We hope that customers will take advantage of the experience we offer in taking care of special needs. We can now listen to customer needs and take digital photos of our suggestions to be presented to them in e-mail for snail-mail format. We invite you to let us help you! |
||||||
|
||||||
