Women’s work boots brand makes first footfall in Melbourne

Tim Ladhams

23rd Aug 2019

Innovative Queensland-based purveyor of work footwear for women, She Wear, put its first physical footprint in Victoria on Friday with the opening of a pop-up store in Collingwood’s Smith Street.

“Victoria is our biggest market,” explained Stacey Head, founder of the online business founded in 2013.

“We have loyal customers across the state, who have been asking us to come down and open a store, but as a growing small business this is the first time we’ve been able to actually get down here.”

The She Wear concept arose from the underwhelming options for women working in specialised fields and trades who need compliant, quality safety footwear.

“I believe the business has been successful because we design our footwear from scratch to fit women correctly, comfortably and safely,” Stacey said.

“Being a female-founded and run business, we know what our customers want, so we design exactly for their requirements and that resonates with our customer base.”

The She Wear brand has seen significant growth, enabling Stacey to expand into a warehouse/office/retail store within eight months of starting trade without any financial assistance or backing.

Social media has been “extremely helpful” in putting the business on the map, Stacey said – the opening of the pop-up store this week was promoted primarily on Facebook – as was the decision by Channel 9 to attire female contestants on their flagship series The Block in She Wear footwear.

“That definitely helped propel our brand into the marketplace,” said Stacey, who was recognised for her efforts by being crowned Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2017 Australian Small Business Champion Awards.

Alongisde the work boots for which they are renowned, She Wear also design a range of workwear and PPE designed to fit women comfortably, correctly and safely.

“We see our brand as a concept rather than just a product as we try to empower and encourage women and young girls to not be constrained by traditional stereotypes and roles,” said Stacey.

“Our next product offering will be more robust shoes for women working in the healthcare and retail sectors.”