Life
Custom shoes step on local market
By Qi Zhai (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-29 08:02
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Bronze statues of children outside the Tongshenghe store. [Zou Hong / China Daily] |
Despite the hefty price tags for a domestic brand, Tongshenghe's waiting list is long.
Since the lunar new year, business has been picking up. New customers can now expect to wait more than two months for their custom creations.
Alternatively, ready-to-wear models in the store are available for a 30 percent discount. This prestigious old Beijing brand has been around for 102 years.
After relocating several times- most recently in 2009 - Tongshenghe is back to its original home base in Wangfujing.
Outside the store, bronze statues of children playing around an oversized shoe invite curious looks from customers and passing tourists.
Inside, the store looks like any modern footwear retailer. Up front, the shelves are stocked with ready-to-wear shoes and a host of salesmen stand by. But a large room off to the side of the Tongshenghe store, decorated with rustic hand tools and leather swatches, gives away its traditional trade.
Tongshenghe is one of three old shoemaking brands still surviving in Beijing. It is the only one to specialize in all-leather shoes. Customers - businessmen, politicians, and people on a mission to find the most wearable shoes - come here for the comfort and breathability that bespoke shoes can offer.
Starting at 2,800 yuan, Tongshenghe's shoes do not come cheap, but wearers are assured that their shoes underwent 100 minute steps in the making.
The store also brings customers in for at least one or two fittings before sewing the final product.
At Tongshenghe, an expert craftsman is on hand to guide customers through the process.
Zhang Qingjun, a "third-generation shoemaking craftsman", did his apprenticeship at Tongshenghe's factory and has been working at the store for the past 10 years.
Quite unlike his salesmen colleagues up front, he does not promote made-to-order shoes to customers who walk in.
Rather, he feels confident that those who take the time to acquire a pair will come back, again and again.
